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THEIR COST : AREAS, AND MAINTENANCE 
BYE-LAWS AND REGULATIONS* 



February, 1892. 



Parks Dep&r! iv-.^nt 




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PUBLIC PARKS 



AND 



PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



THEIR COST, AREAS, AND MAINTENANCE; 
BYE-LAWS AND REGULATIONS. 



J. COX, Secretary, 
February, 1892. Parks Department. 



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Mr. Alderman R. C. BARROW, J.P., Chairman. 
Mr. Alderman W. WHITE, J.P. 
,. Councillor E. W. BOWKETT. 

., J. JACOBS, J.P. 

„ „ S. JOHNSON. 

„ „ R. NIXON. 

W. SHAMMON, J.P. 
J. WHATELET. 



CUrk to % ^atlis anir |)arks Cmnmittte : 
Mr. W. S. PRITCHETT. 



Mptrinttnbent anb dsnghtm: !§a% gepartautrt: 
Mr. J. COX. 



?w«targ |)arks gbjiarfnunt : 
Mr. J. COX. 



JCHjmhttfnbtnt of |)arks : 
Mr. S. HEARN. 



ftMm jrf i|e §a% ^xtbr-o^jonumttce. 



Me. Councillor E. W. BOWKETT, Chairman. 
Mr. Councillor J. JACOBS, J.P. 
„ S. JOHNSON. 

„ W. SHAMMON, J.P. 



temfa of tire f arfts Sulr-tfwmratttt. 



Mr. Alderman W. WHITE, Chairman. 

Mr. Councillor E. W. BOWKETT. 
S. JOHNSON. 
R. NIXON. 
W. SHAMMON, J.P. 
J. WHATELEY. 



Cxtjj nf ^inuhrgljam 



Population of the City (including new Districts) 478,116 
Number op Burgesses „ „ ,, 88,186 

Number of Aldermen and Councillors ... ... 72 

Number of Wards ... ... ... .... ... 18 

Area in Acres ... ... ... ... ... 12,365 

Rateable Value of the City (before the annexation) £1,817,638 
Borough Bate at 2/5 in the £ for 1890-1 produced £219,631 
Improvement Rate at 2/1 in the £ for 1890- 1 produced £146,479 
Number of Parks and Gardens ... ... ... 14 

Number of Bathing Establishments ... ... 4 

Number of Open-air Swimming Baths ... ... 2 




COUTEITTS 



Establishment of Parks 

Birmingham Parks Act, 1854 

Abstract from Public Health Act, 1875 

,, ,, Birmingham Corporation Consolidation Act, 1883 

H }J „ Closed Burial Grounds 

Bye-Laws and Regulations re Parks and Gardens 

Special Regulations re Cannon Hill Park ... 

„ „ Rednal and Bilberry Hills 

Bye-Laws re Closed Burial Grounds 

Adderley Park 

Calthorpe Park 

Aston Park 

Cannon Hill Park 

Highgate Park 

Summerfield Park 

Victoria Park, Small Heath ... 

Burbury Street Recreation Ground 

Walmer Recreation Ground 

Nechells Recreation Ground ... 

Closed Burial Grounds 

St. Mary's Gardens 

Park Street Gardens 

St. Martin's Churchyard 

Rednal and Bilberry Hills 

Street Enclosures 

Trees in Streets 

Balsall Heath Recreation Ground 

Detailed Statement of Annual Income from Parks and Gardens 
„ „ „ „ Expenditure „ „ 

Summary of Details re Parks and Gardens 

,, „ continued 



7 
14 

19 

20 
22 
30 
34 
34 
36 
43 
45 
49 
57 
61 
63 
69 
75 
77 
83 
85 
86 
86 
87 
89 
95 
95 
97 
98 
99 
100 
101 
102 




CITY OF BIRMINGHAM. 



PUBLIC PARKS, GARDENS, AND 
RECREATION GROUNDS. 



nnHE first effort to obtain a Public Park for Birmingham 
-*- was made in 1844, by means of a Committee appointed 
to raise a subscription for the provision of Parks and Gardens. 
The money raised (about £6,000) was, however, in 1846, 
applied for the purchase of the site of Kent Street Baths, 
and given to the Corporation by the subscribers. 

In 1850, an ineffectual endeavour was made by the Town 
Council to purchase Aston Park, which is referred to more 
fully in the details relating to that Park. 

In 1852, a large scheme for a Park was proposed by Mr. 
Samuel Beale, chairman of the Midland Railway Company, 
who, in 1841, was Mayor of Birmingham. This gentle- 
man suggested that the Corporation should take 250 acres of 



land in Sutton Park on a lease for 999 years, at a rent of Is. 
per acre, and that they should expend £20,000 in the erection 
of a Crystal Palace on the site ; and, if the proposal was 
carried out, Mr. Beale undertook, on the part of the Midland 
Railway Company, that a railway should be constructed to 
Sutton, with a station adjoining the Palace. A Committee of 
the Council, to whom this project was referred, reported in 
1853 that it had to be abandoned, because the Corporation of 
Sutton would neither grant a lease for a longer term than 99 
years, nor let the land at less than £ 1 per acre. 

These various proposals having failed, Birmingham, up 
to 1856, still remained one of the numerous towns which 
possessed no place appropriated to public recreation. In that 
year, Adderley Park was assigned to the Corporation by Mr. 
Charles Bowyer Adderley, on terms which practically amounted 
to a gift; and in the year following, Calthorpe Park was dedi- 
cated to the public use by the late Lord Calthorpe; and, 
subsequently, other desirable sites were obtained, either by 
purchase, or by the munificence of Miss Ryland, Mr. W. 
Middlemore, and others. 

In the year 1854, a special Act of Parliament was obtained 
by the Council, whereby they were empowered to purchase 
land, and lay out the same, and charge the cost thereof on the 
rates of the Borough. This Act was called " The Birmingham 
Parks Act." And, under The Public Health Act of 1875, 
additional powers were granted to Local Authorities generally 
to acquire lands for the purpose of public pleasure grounds, etc. 
These powers were increased by The Birmingham Corporation 
Consolidation Act of 1883. Copies and abstracts of the 
several Acts are appended hereto. 

The management and control of the Parks having been 
assigned to the Baths Committee by the Town Council, the 
general supervision of the first three Parks, viz. : Adderley 
Aston, and Calthorpe, was placed under the care of the late 
Superintendent of the Baths Department (Mr. B. Puruell) 
until 1866, when Mr. Alfred Rodway was appointed Superin- 
tendent of Parks, and Curator of Aston Hall, at a salary of 
£85 per annum, with residence at Aston Hall. Mr. Rodway's 



salary was subsequently increased to £250 per annum. His 
death took place on the 5th day of June, 1885. 

On the 11th day of June following, a special meeting of 
the Baths and Parks Committee was held, to consider the 
appointment of a successor to the late Mr. Rodway. The 
Committee were then led to consider the desirability of 
separating the two offices hitherto held by him, as the 
Committee had already been in communication with the 
Museum and School of Art Committee, with a view of 
transferring the control of Aston Hall, with the objects of art 
therein, to that Committee, an arrangement which was 
subsequently accepted by the Museum and School of Art 
Committee, and approved by the Council on the 7th day of 
July, as per Council minute No. 13,826. The Baths and 
Parks Committee thereupon appointed Mr. Samuel Hearn 
(who had been Park-keeper at Cannon Hill Park from the 
date of opening) Superintendent of Parks, at a salary of £156 
per annum, with residence at Cannon Hill Park as before; and 
a son of the late Superintendent was appointed to do the 
secretarial work of the Parks Department, at a salary of £104 
per annum, jointly with his appointment by the Museum and 
School of Art Committee, as Curator of Aston Hall, at an 
additional salary of £52 per annum, with residence thereat. 

On the 2nd day of July, 1889, the Baths and Parks 
Committee reported to the City Council that, with a view to 
the more economical and efficient discharge of the duties in 
connection with the secretarial work of the Parks Department, 
they had (subject to the approval of the Council) appointed 
Mr. J. Cox, the Superintendent and Engineer of the Baths 
Department, to be also Seci'etary of the Parks Department, 
so that in future the clerical work of the two departments 
would be carried on at the Kent Street office, and an annual 
payment of £60 would be made by the Parks Committee to 
the Baths Department in respect thereto. At the same 
meeting of the Council, the Committee reported that in 
consequence of the multiplicity of transactions in the two 
departments, and the involved nature of the accounts, they had 
appointed Messrs. Baker, Gibson, and Co., Chartered Accoun- 
tants, of Bennetts Hill, to make a preliminary audit of the 



10 

books for the half-year ending June 30th, and to report their 
recommendations thereon. 

Messrs. Baker and Gibson subsequently reported their 
approval of the arrangements the Committee had made for 
the keeping of the accounts in the two departments, and 
they were thereupon duly appointed Auditors to the Baths and 
Parks Committee, the audit to be made at the end of each half 
municipal year. 

There are about 50 men employed in the whole of the 
Parks and Gardens of the City, each Park being under the 
care of one Head Gardener, who resides in the Lodge attached 
thereto. The Park-keeper and the principal assistants are 
provided with uniform, and their wages range from 22s. to 28s. 
per week. 

Under The Birmingham Consolidation Act, 1883, the 
Corporation secured powers to set apart a portion of the Public 
Parks or Recreation Grounds for games, such as football, 
cricket, lawn tennis, &c, and to make charges in respect 
thereto, with the result that in all the principal Parks such 
games are permitted, and the following charges are made : 

For Cricket matches - - 2s.6d. per match. 

Junior clubs - ls.6d. ,, ,, 

Lawn tennis, and use of nets 8d. per hour. 

Croquet, and use of appliances 6d. ,, ,, 

Football - - - - ls.Od. „ match. 

Lawn bagatelle and use of balls 8d. „ hour. 

Bowls, including use of same 3d. ,, ,, 

The total income from these games at all the Parks is about 
£150 per annum. 

No swings, trapeze, or other gymnastic appliances are 
provided or allowed in the Parks, and no charges are made for 
practising cricket or football therein, excepting in the case of 
special matches between rival clubs, which generally take place 
on Saturday afternoons ; and, for the protection of the large 
number of visitors to the Parks on Bank Holidays, no cricket 
or football is allowed on those days, and in all cases the wickets 



11 

must be pitched not less than 50 yards from any carriage drive 
or public footpath leading thereto. 

The several Parks and Gardens are open to the public 
from 6 o'clock in the morning until sunset between the 31st 
March and 30th September, and at other times between sunrise 
and sunset, except when otherwise specially provided. 

During the summer months the Police Band is engaged 
to give selections of music in the several Parks and Gardens, 
each evening alternately throughout the week, from 6 to 8 p.m., 
or from 7 to 9 p.m., and a charge of £18 per annum is paid to 
the Watch Committee in respect to each of the six principal 
Parks, or a total of £108. Following is the fixture each 
week for the Band Performance, from May to September: 

Victoria Park, Small Heath - Monday evenings, 

summerfield park - - - tuesday ,, 

Calthorpe Park - - - Wednesday ,, 

Highgate Park - - - Thursday „ 

Burbury Street Recreation Ground 
and Park Street Gardens every 

alternate ... - Friday „ 

Cannon Hill Park ... Saturday „ 

Amateur Bands are also permitted to play in the Pai'ks, 
subject to the approval of the Baths and Parks Committee, and 
providing their services are gratuitous, and no collections 
made or programmes sold in connection therewith. The Baths 
and Parks Committee invite offers from professional or amateur 
Bands to give selections of music in any of the Parks, subject 
to the conditions mentioned ; and amongst those who have 
already gratuitously given their services, either weekly or 
occasionally, may be mentioned — Mr. Rainbow's Orchestral 
Amateur Band, which plays in Summerfield Park on Saturday 
evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., Messrs. W. and T. Wright's Band and 
Messrs. W. and T. Avery's Works Band give occasional per- 
formances in Victoria Park. 

The Committee occasionally receive generous gifts of 
plants, seeds, shrubs, etc., for use in the ornamental portion 



12 

of the Parks and Gardens ; and many thousands of plants, 
such as geraniums, calceolarias, etc., are distributed annually 
amongst the poor, or given to the school children living in 
the neighbourhood of the several Parks, at the close of the 
season in September or October. 

Boating Pools and open-air Swimming Baths are provided 
in Cannon Hill and Victoria Parks. The management 
of the Swimming Bath in Victoria Park is under the control 
of the Baths Committee, and the Swimming Bath in Cannon 
Hill Park is let to the lessee of the Refreshment Room and 
Boating Pools thereat. A uniform charge of 6d. per hour 
per person is made for boating in each of the Parks named, 
and fishing is permitted in the Pools on application to the 
lessee by payment of Is. per rod. 

Skating is allowed on the large Boating Pools during the 
winter free of charge (subject to the control of the Park-keepers 
as to the safety of the ice), and the Parks are occasionally 
kept open until 10 p.m. for that purpose. 

Refreshment rooms are pi-ovided in Aston, Cannon Hill, 
Victoria, and Calthorpe Parks, and these are let to responsible 
tenants, who are the only persons authorised to sell refresh- 
ments in the Parks, the scale of charges being fixed by the 
Committee. 

No intoxicating drinks are allowed to be sold in the Parks, 
and hawkers and pedlars are prohibited from vending their 
wares therein. 

There are now seven Public Parks and seven Public Re- 
creation Grounds, including Rednal Hill, Walmer Recreation 
Ground, and Balsall Heath Recreation Ground, now in course 
of formation, under the care of tbe Committee. The total 
loans borrowed on the several Parks and Gardens up to 
March 31st, 1891, is £76,092, to which must be added 
£9,700 for the purchase of additional land at Summerfield 
Park, which has subsequently been sanctioned by the Council, 
and also £2,200, the approximate cost of laying-out, fencing-in, 
and the erection of buildings in connection therewith. £2,100 



13 

has also been sanctioned by the Local Government Board 
for enclosing, laying-out, and erecting buildings in con- 
nection with the Walmer Recreation Ground, thus making 
a total capital expenditure up to September 30th of 
£90,092. The average annual amount of loans repaid during 
the three years ending March 31st, 1891, is £1,152, and the 
average annual amount of interest paid on loans for the same 
period is about £2,150 ; there will, however, be an increase of 
about £500 per annum for interest and sinking fund on the 
subsequent loans referred to. The average annual working 
expenditure on all the Parks and Gardens for the three years 
ending March 31st, 1891, amounts to £4,930, to which must 
be added £3,302, the average amount of interest and sinking 
fund for the same period, making a total annual expenditure 
of £8,232, equal to one and one-tenth of a penny in tbe £ on 
the rateable value of the City. 

There is an annual income of about £650 derived from 
the various rents, grazing, &c. 



14 



The following are the various Acts and powers 
obtained by the Corporation in respect to the 
Purchase of Lands for the formation, mainten- 
ance, and regulation of the Public Parks and 
Gardens, and Closed Burial Grounds, etc. 

AN ACT FOR ESTABLISHING PARKS IN OR NEAR 
TO THE BOROUGH OF BIRMINGHAM. 

[Royal Assent, July 3rd, 1854.] 

Preamble. 

Whereas it would be greatly for the benefit of the inhabitants 
of the borough of Birmingham that there should be provided 
for their use parks and gardens for the purposes of healthful 
and pleasurable resort : 

And whereas the purposes aforesaid cannot be effected 
without the authority of Parliament : 

Mat it therefore Please Your Majesty, 

That it may be enacted, and Be it Enacted by the Queen's 
Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and of the Commons in this 
present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the 
same, as follows (that is to say) : 

Power for coxmcil to accept grants and make purchases of lands. 

1. The council of the said borough, for the purpose of 
providing for the inhabitants of Birmingham, parks and other 
places of healthful and pleasurable resort, shall have power to 
do the following things, or any of them : To accept any gifts, 
grants, or devises of lands ; or to purchase for a sum of money 
in gross or in consideration of an annual rent-chai*ge, payable 



15 

by the council, any lands situate in or near Birmingham ; to 
contribute towards the establishment by any person or bodies 
of persons of any such parks or places as aforesaid ; and for 
the purpose aforesaid to improve, maintain, and otherwise deal 
with such lands in such manner as they may deem most con- 
ducive to the purposes of this Act : Provided always, That in 
the case of any grant or conveyance made by parties not 
entitled to the absolute freehold and inheritance of the lands 
granted or conveyed, there may be contained covenants on the 
part of the council of the borough not to erect, set up, or 
exhibit, or to permit to be erected, set up, or exhibited in the 
said parks or places any shows or exhibitions, or any public- 
houses or houses of public entertainment, or any other con- 
ditions which the person granting the same may consider 
necessary : Provided also, That the council shall not erect any 
buildings on the said lands except such as may be required for 
the purposes of this Act. 

Incorporation of "Lands Clauses Act, 1845." 

2. " The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," except 
the sections with respect to the purchase of lands otherwise 
than by agreement, is hereby incorporated with this Act. 

Power to levy money. 

3. The council of the said borough may levy with and as 
part of the borough rate levied in the said borough, or by a 
separate rate to be levied in like manner as the said borough 
rate, and may take out of the borough fund such sums of money 
as they may from time to time deem needful for the purpose 
of carrying into effect any of the objects of this Act; Pro- 
vided that the whole increase in the said borough rate for 
any one year, for the purposes of this Act, do not exceed one 
penny in the pound, or if a separate rate be levied, that such 
rate do not exceed one penny in the pound of the annual value 
of the property in the borough rateable to the borough rate. 

Power to borrotv money. 

4. The council shall have power from time to time to 
borrow at interest for the purposes of this Act, on the security 



16 

of the increase hereby authorised to be made to the said 
borough rate, or of the separate rate authorized by this Act, 
any sum or sums of money not exceeding the sum of thirty 
thousand pounds, and the money so borrowed shall be repaid 
within thirty years from the time of borrowing the same ; and 
the mortgagees under this Act may enforce the payment of 
any arrears of interest or the arrears of principal and interest 
due to them by the appointment of a receiver, and the amount 
owing to the mortgagees by whom application for such 
receiver shall be made, shall not be less than five thousand 
pounds; and for the purposes aforesaid the clauses of "The 
Commissioners' Clauses Act, 1847," with respect to the 
mortgages to be executed by the commissioners (except the 
clause numbered 84), shall be incorporated with this Act. 



Lands to be vested in the Corporation. 

5. All lands so accepted or purchased, or taken and 
acquired, as aforesaid, shall be vested in and held upon trust 
for ever, or for such estate and interest as shall be acquired 
therein, by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the said 
borough of Biraiingham, and shall be managed by the council 
of the borough, and kept in fit and proper order for the benefit 
of the inhabitants of the said borough of Birmingham and 
others resorting thereto. 



Saving rights of Reversioner in Leaseholds. 

6. Provided always, That if under the powers of this 
Act the council of the said borough shall become possessed of 
or entitled to any leasehold estate or interest in any lands, then 
and in every such case the council of the said borough, in 
respect of such lands, shall be and remain subject and liable 
to the rent and other payments, and to the performance and 
observance of all covenants, conditions, restrictions, and agree- 
ments reserved by and contained in the lease of such lands, as 
fully and effectually as the original lessee under such lease 
would have been if he had not disposed of the same ; and 
nothing in this Act contained shall release or discharge such 
lands, or the council of the said borough, in respect thereof, 



17 

from such rent or payments, or from the performance or 
observance of any such covenants, conditions, restrictions, or 
agreements, unless and until they shall have purchased or 
otherwise lawfully acquired the reversion in such lands, or the 
discharge thereof, from such rent and payments, and from the 
performance and observance of such covenants, conditions, 
restrictions, and agreements. 

Power for Council to appropriate Land as a Site for 
Public Libraries. 

7, The council shall have power to appropriate any 
portion of the land vested in the said mayor, aldermen, and bur- 
gesses under this Act as a site for any buildings that may be 
erected in pursuance of " The Public Libraries Act, 1850," and 
to erect thereon such buildings accordingly. 

Lands not to be Alienated or Exchanged without the consent of 
Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. 

8. It shall not be lawful for the council to alienate or 
exchange the lands to be acquired by them under the provisions 
of this Act without the consent of the Lords Commissioners 
of Her Majesty's Treasury, and it shall be lawful for such 
council, with the approbation of the said Lords Commissioners, 
or any three of them, to alienate or exchange any of such 
lands, in such manner and on such terms and conditions as 
shall have been approved by such Lords Commissioners ; 
Provided always, That notice of the intention of the council to 
make application to the Lords Commissioners for such approval 
shall be fixed on the outer door of the Towu Hall, or in some 
public and conspicuous place within the borough, one calendar 
month at least before such application, and a copy of the 
memorial intended to be sent to the said Lords Commissioners 
shall be kept in the Town Clerk's office during such calendar 
month, and shall be freely open to the inspection of every 
burgess at all reasonable hours during the same. 

Power of Council to maJce Bye-laws. 

9. The council of the said borough may make such bye- 
laws and regulations as they may think expedient, for the 



IS 

purpose of carrying into effect the objects of this Act, and may 
annex reasonable penalties for the breach of such bye-laws and 
regulations, or any of them ; Provided that no penalty so to 
be appointed shall exceed the sum of five pounds, and that no 
such bye-law shall be made unless at least two-thirds of the 
whole number of tbe council shall be present ; Provided that 
no such bye-law shall be of any force until the expiration of 
forty days after the same, or a copy thereof, shall have been 
sent, sealed with the seal of the said borough, to one of Her 
Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, and shall have been 
affixed on the outer door of the Town Hall, or in some other 
public place, within such boi*ough ; and if at any time within 
the said period of forty days, Her Majesty, with the advice of 
Her Privy Council, shall disallow the same bye-law, or any part 
thereof, such bye-law, or the part disallowed, shall not come 
into operation ; Provided also, That it shall be lawful for Her 
Majesty, if she shall think fit, at any time within the said 
period of forty days, to enlarge the time within which such 
bye-law, if disallowed, shall not come into force ; and no such 
bye-law shall in that case come into force until after the 
expiration of such enlarged time. 

Expenses of Act. 

10. All costs, charges, and expenses of and attending 
the passing of this Act, or incidental thereto, may be paid by 
the council of the said borough out of the borough fund. 

Short Title of Act. 

11. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The 
Birmingham Parks Act, 1854 " 



19 



ABSTRACT FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ACT, 1875 (38 
AND 39 VICT., CH. 55), RELATING TO PUBLIC 
PLEASURE GROUNDS, ETC. 



Section 164. Any urban authority may purchase or take 
on lease, lay out, plant, improve, and maintain lands for the 
purpose of being used as public walks or pleasure grounds, and 
may support or contribute to the support of public walks or 
pleasure grounds, provided by any person whomsoever. 

Any urban authority may make bye-laws for the regula- 
tion of any such public walk or pleasure ground, and may, by 
such bye-laws, provide for the removal from such public walk 
or pleasure ground of any person infringing any such bye-law 
by any officer of the urban authority or constable. 

Section 165. Any urban authority may from time to time 
provide such clocks as they consider necessary, and cause them 
to be fixed on or against any public building, or, with the con- 
sent of the owner or occupier, on or against any private 
building, the situation of which may be convenient for that 
purpose, and may cause the dials thereof to be lighted at night, 
and may from time to time alter and remove any such clocks 
to such other like situation as they may consider expedient. 



20 



FOLLOWING IS AN ABSTRACT OF THE VARIOUS 
POWERS OBTAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL 
IN RESPECT TO THE PURCHASE OF LANDS 
FOR THE FORMATION, MAINTENANCE, AND 
REGULATION OF PUBLIC PARKS AND GAR- 
DENS, INCLUDING THE CLOSED BURIAL 
GROUNDS, AND THE BYE-LAWS UNDER THE 
BIRMINGHAM CORPORATION CONSOLIDATION 
ACT, 1883. 

PARKS. 

Poiver to purchase lands for formation of Parks and to form 
Parks. 

Section 67. The Corporation may from time to time pur- 
chase by agreement, or accept a gift of, or contribute to the 
acquisition of any lands within or without the Borough, to be 
appropriated for the purposes of a park or a public walk or 
public walks, or a place or places of public resort or recreation, 
or of the enlargement or improvement thereof, or of the 
approaches thereto ; and may level, drain, sewer, pave, flag, 
gravel, lay out, plant, light, or otherwise improve any such 
park, walk, or place, and do such other acts as appear 
necessary to the Corporation, with a view to the proper 
formation, maintenance, improvement, use, and enjoyment of 
every such park, walk, or place. 

Maintenance and Improvement of Parks. 

Section G8. The Corporation may from time to time 
maintain, re-arrange, improve, and ornament any park, public 
walk, or place of public resort or recreation belonging to 
them, and may erect on any part of the same refreshment 
rooms, shelters, and other like buildings and conveniences for 
the use of the public, and buildings and conveniences for 
storing and keeping tools and materials ; and they may, for 
the purpose of improving and ornamenting such parks, walks, 
and other places, and the approaches thereto, execute and 
make such works, roads, and conveniences as they may from 
time to time think necessary or expedient. 



21 

Poiver to set apart ground for Games. 

Section 69. The Corporation may set apart portions of the 
parks and recreation grounds for cricket, football, archery, 
and other like games ; or for the exercise, inspection, or review 
of any portion of Her Majesty's forces, but so that the same 
shall be open to the public when not in use for such games or 
for such purposes as aforesaid. 

Bye-laws for Regulation of Paries, fyc. 

Section 70. The Corporation may from time to time make 
Bye-laws relating to any park, public walk, or place of public 
resort or recreation belonging to them, for all or any of the 
purposes following (that is to say) : 

For regulating the conduct of persons frequenting the 
same. 

For preventing the holding therein of any religious, 
political, or party meeting, or any meeting which, 
in the judgment of the Corporation, is not proper 
to be held therein. 

For regulating refreshment rooms therein, and for 
determining the days on and hours at which they 
are to be opened and closed, and the nature and 
prices of the articles to be sold therein. 

For preventing or for regulating the smoking of tobacco 
in any building, or part of a building therein. 

For preventing or regulating the admission therein of 
dogs. 

For preventing males from intruding on or using places 
therein set apart for the use of females, or vice versa. 

For preventing or regulating the admission therein of 
vehicles, horses, and other animals. 

For protecting from injury buildings, terraces, fountains, 
bridges, walks, seats, fences, and other parts of, or 
things of or belonging to the park, walk, or place ; and 



22 

for preventing the destruction or injury of aquatic or 
other birds, their nests or eggs, or of other animals, or 
of fish, or of trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers, or the 
plucking of flowers and leaves therein. 

For enabling the servants of the Corporation to remove 
therefrom persons guilty of a breach of any bye-law 
relative thereto. 

Power to regulate hours of opening and closing, and other matters. 

Section 71. The Corporation may from time to time, as 
respects any park, public walk, or place of public resort or 
recreation belonging to them, make regulations for regulating 
the hours of opening and closing the same, the payment to be 
made for admission to any building therein, or for the use of 
any ground for cricket or any other game. 

ParJc-Jceepers to be made Constables. 

Section 72. The Corporation may cause any Park-keepers 
appointed by the Corporation, and all persons appointed to 
assist them, permanently or otherwise, to make such declaration 
as is by law required to be made by constables of the Borough; 
and the men making such declaration shall (if in uniform, or 
provided with a warrant, which they shall show if required) 
have, in the parks (whether within or beyond the borough) 
for the time being belonging to or under the control of the 
Corporation, such powers, authorities, and privileges, aud shall 
be liable to such responsibilities, and (subject to the directions 
of the Corporation) shall perform all such duties as constables 
appointed under The Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. 

POWERS RELATING TO CLOSED BURIAL 
GROUNDS. 

Meaning of Closed Burial Ground. 

Section 198. For the purposes of this Act, the expression 
" Closed Burial Ground " means any burial or part of a burial 
ground within the Borough which is for the time being 
wholly or partially closed for burials, under the provisions of 
any Statute or Order in Council. 



23 

Power to Incumbents, etc., to grant to Corporations rights 
over Closed Burial Grounds. 

Section 199. Subject to the provisions and for any of 
the purposes of this Act, the persons hereinafter mentioned 
may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, grant to the 
Corporation, and the Corporation may accept from time to 
time, either the absolute property, or any less estate, right, or 
easement in or over the whole or any part of any Closed Burial 
Ground. 

Persons by whom Grants may be made. 

Section 200. A grant for the purpose of this Act may be 
made to the Corporation by the following persons (that is to 

say) : 

(1) In the case of a Closed Burial Ground belonging to 

any parish (whether the same is an ancient parish, 
or is a parish or district for ecclesiastical 
purposes) by the actual Incumbent of the benefice 
of such parish (whether such Incumbent be 
Rector, Vicar, or Perpetual Curate), with, ia any 
case, the previous consent, in writing, of the 
Bishop of the diocese, which shall be recited in 
the grant, or testified by his signature thereto. 

(2) In the case of a Closed Burial Ground belonging 

to two or more such parishes, by the actual 
Incumbents thereof, as hereinbefore defined, and 
with the like consent. 

(3) In the case of a Closed Burial Ground which is 

vested in trustees or commissioners, by such 
trustees or commissioners, or the major part of 
them, respectively. 

(4) In any other case, by the owners in fee of the Closed 

Burial Ground. 

Provision where owners unhnoivn. 

Section 201. In the case of any Closed Burial Ground 
not belonging to any parish or parishes as aforesaid, and not 



24 

vested in trustees, or the trustees of which cannot be found, or 
in the case of -which no person capable of making a grant as 
aforesaid under this Act exists or is known, the Corporation, 
after giving notice by advertisements or otherwise, as they may 
be directed by the Secretary of State, may take possession of 
and use such burial ground for the purpose of this Act ; and in 
case no person within ten years after such notice has been 
given establishes by action or otherwise a title to such burial 
ground, or a right to control the use of the same, the same shall, 
at the end of such ten years, vest in the Corporation absolutely 
for the purposes of this Act. 



Consideration for Grants. 

Section 202. A grant under this Act may be made with or 
without any valuable consideration. Any such consideration 
shall be made either by way of periodical payment, or by 
payment of a gross sum, and shall be secured and paid in 
such manner as the Corporation, with the approval of the 
Secretary of State, determines ; but so that in the case of a 
Closed Burial Ground belonging to a parish or parishes, the 
benefit of any such payment shall be secured to the 
Incumbent or Iucumbents for the time being by way of 
annual income, as nearly as may be, as if it had arisen from 
the sale of lands belonging to the benefice ; or the consideration 
of a gross sum may, with the consent of the Incumbent, 
be applied for such purposes in connection with his church 
or parish as the Bishop of the diocese and the Secretary of 
State may approve. 



Form of Grant. 

Section 203. A grant for the purposes of this Act may 
be in the form contained in the Seventh Schedule of this Act, 
or to the like effect, and every grant so made shall be effectual 
for the purposes therein expressed ; but every such grant shall 
bear the proper ad valorem or other stamp duty to which it 
may be liable under the Acts in force relating to Stamp 
Puties. 



25 

Powers of Corporation under Grants. 

Section 204. When, under the provisions of this Act, the 
Corporation have become possessed of any Closed Burial 
Ground, or part of a Closed Burial Ground, or of any estate, 
rights, or easements in or over the same, it shall be lawful for 
them (subject to any conditions or restrictions contained in the 
grant, and so far only as the grant shall extend) from time to 
time to do all or any of the following things with respect to 
such Closed Burial Ground or part thereof (that is to say) : 

(1) To lay out, level, repair, turf, plant, embellish, 
light, improve, and maintain the same. 

(2) To fence the same or any part thereof, or to throw 
open the same or any part thereof to the public. 

(3) To lay out and maintain walks or footways through 
or over the same. 

(4) To provide seats for the use of the public. 

(5) Generally to maintain the same, and any graves, 
tombs, or monuments therein, in decent order and in a 
proper sanitary condition. 

(6) Where it is expedient, for the purpose of widening or 
improving any street, to lay out, level, pave, fence, and 
maintain such part of the same as may be necessary as 
part of such street ; but this power shall not be exercised 
without the consent of the Secretary of State. 

(7) To regulate and control the use of the same by the 
public. 

To the extent to which the Corporation are under any 
such grant entitled to maintain and keep in order any Closed 
Burial Ground, and any graves, tombs, or monuments therein, 
it shall be their duty so to do ; and no other person, body, or 
corporation shall to that extent be under any liability in 
respect thereof. 



26 

Preservation of Freehold of Site of Church in Incumbent. 

Section 205. When a church stands in a Closed Burial 
Ground, the freehold of the site of the church, with all right of 
way to and from the same, shall be preserved to the Incumbent 
or persons entitled to use the same; and in case it shall be 
expedient to re-build the church on a different site within 
such burial ground, the Corporation shall re-convey to the 
Incumbent the freehold of the site required for such purpose. 

Corporation may erect House for Keeper of Public Enclosure. 

Section 206. The Corporation may, subject to the condi- 
tions of any grant, erect and maintain such house for the 
keeper of any Closed Burial Ground, and such public 
conveniences as the Corporation may from time to time think 
fit to provide. 

Keys of Enclosure to be kept thereat. 

Section 207. The Corporation, in the case of any such 
burial ground which they do not throw open to the public, 
shall cause the keys of such burial ground to be kept on some 
part thereof, or at some convenient place near thereto, and 
notice of the place of deposit shall be affixed to, upon, or 
near to the principal entrance to such burial ground ; and 
every person who immediately before the commencement of 
this Act had, or whose personal representatives hereafter 
shall have, any right, privilege, or easement in respect of any 
vault, grave, tomb, tombstone, or monument therein, shall 
have access thereto at all reasonable times. 



Power to liemove Tombstones in certain cases. 

Section 208. In order that the Corporation may the 
better fence, level, lay out, turf, plant, embellish, and otherwise 
improve Closed Burial Grounds, they may, with the consent of 
the heirs or personal representatives of any person whose 
remains are interred therein, remove any tombstone or monu- 
ment, and they may without such consent remove any such 
tombstone or monument if the inscription thereon shall have 



27 

become illegible, or if upon diligent inquiry the Corporation 
shall be unable to find such heirs or personal representatives, 
provided that any such stone or monument so removed shall 
be placed in some other part of the Closed Burial Ground, 
and that a register be kept of the situation from and to 
which such stone or monument has been removed, and of such 
marks and signs as may aid in the future identification of the 
same. 



Power to make Bye-laws. 

Section 209. Subject to the conditions of any grant, the 
Corporation may from time to time make Bye-laws for all or 
any of the following purposes with respect to burial grounds 
over which they exercise rights under this Act (that is to say) : 

For the prevention of the posting of bills or placards, and 
the writing, stamping, cutting, printing, drawing, or marking 
iu any manner of any word or character, or of any repre- 
sentation of any object, on any building, erection, monument, 
tombstone, wall, gate, door, railing, fence, tree, lamp-post, 
walk, pavement, or seat, or elsewhere iu the enclosure. 

For the preservation of order and good conduct among 
persons frequenting the enclosure. 

For regulating the days and times of admission thereto. 

For the prevention or restraint of acts or things tending 
to the injury or disfigurement of the enclosure or the fences 
thereof, or anything in or on the same or belonging thereto, or 
which may interfere with the use thereof by the public. 

For preventing or regulating the admission of dogs. 

For the removal of any person infringing any such 
bye-laws. 



Appointment of Keepers and Servants. 

Section 210. The Corporation may from time to time 
appoint, employ, and remove keepers and servants for such 



28 

burial grounds, and they may make orders and regulations 
with respect to the salaries, wages, duties, and conduct of such 
keepers and servants. 

Power to Corporation to bring Actions in respect of Injury to 
Burial Grounds. 

Section 211. The Corporation may from time to time, in 
their own name, prosecute or defend any legal proceedings for 
recovering or defending the possession, for the purposes of this 
Act, or for obtaining the payment of damages, or any man- 
damus or injunction in respect of or against any actual or 
contemplated injury or damage to such burial grounds, or any 
part or parts thereof, or the fences, walks, graves, tombstones, 
and property in or about the same. 

Damage to Public Enclosure, etc., to be paid for. 

Section 212. The Corporation may, notwithstanding the 
infliction of a penalty, and in addition thereto, recover, either 
by action or summarily, from any person who does or causes 
to be done any injury to such burial ground, or the walls, 
rails, or fences thereof, or anything contained therein or 
thereon, the amount of the damage sustained by the Corpora- 
tion by reason of such injury. 

Purposes of part of Act — Sanitary Purposes. 

Section 213. The purposes of this part of this Act shall 
be deemed to be sanitary purposes within the meaning of The 
Public Health Act, 1875. 

Bight of Clerks and Sextons to receive certain Fees to cease 
on Death of present holders of office. 

Section 214. The right of every parish clerk and sexton 
to perform and exercise duties and functions, in respect of 
the burial of the remains of parishioners or inhabitants of the 
parish of which he is clerk or sexton, in any burial ground 
provided by the Burial Board for the Borough, under the pro- 
vision of the Burial Acts, or to which this Act applies, and to 
receive fees on such burials, shall cease on the death of the 



29 

present holders of these offices respectively; and no successor 
in office of any such parish clerk or sexton shall be entitled to 
perform or exercise any duties or functions, or to receive any 
fees, in respect of any burials in any such burial grouud. 

Saving rights of heirs, etc., of persons interred in burial 
grounds. 

Section 215. Nothing in this part of this Act shall 
prejudice or interfere with the rights, privileges, or easements 
which any person immediately before the commencement of 
this Act had, or which his heirs or personal representatives 
may hereafter have, in respect of any vault, grave, tomb, tomb- 
stone, or monument, or the maintenance thereof, or the access 
thereto respectively, in any of the burial grounds to which 
this Act applies. 

Saving of Liabilities. 

Section 216. Nothing in this part of this Act shall 
exempt any person from any liability or obligation not other- 
wise expressly provided for by or under the provisions of this 
part of this Act. 

Saving of other powers of Corporation. 

Section 217. Nothing in this part of this Act shall 
deprive the Corporation, as the Sanitary Authority, or as the 
Burial Board, or otherwise, of any powers or authorities under 
any other general or local Act. 



30 



Copy of the Bye-laws and Regulations for the 
Management of the several Public Parks and 
Gardens, and the Closed Burial Grounds of the 
City, made by the Council in respect thereto. 



CITY OF BIRMINGHAM. 



PUBLIC PARKS. 



At an adjourned Quarterly Meeting of the Council of 
this Borough, held pursuant to a resolution of the Council 
fixing the same, and to notice by the Mayoi*, on Tuesday, 
the 14th day of November, 1876, at Two o'clock in the 
afternoon, in the Council Chamber, at the Public Office in 
Moor Street : 

Resolved — 

10,576. That the following Code of Bye-laws and Regu- 
lations, in relation to the several Public Parks of the Corpora- 
tion, be approved and adopted ; and that the Baths and Parks 
Committee do take all necessary steps, in the name and on 
behalf of the Council, and under the Corporate Common Seal, 
for the purpose of complyiug with the provisions of " The 
Birmingham Parks Act, 1854," in reference to the making of 
Bye-laws and Regulations. 

"Whereas, by virtue of "The Birmingham Parks Act, 
1854," the Council of the said Borough are empowered to 
make such Bye-laws and Regulations as they may think 
expedient for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of 
the said Act, and to annex reasonable penalties for the breach 
of such Bye-laws and Regulations, or any of them. 



31 

Now we, the Council of the said Borough, at a meeting 
duly held this 14fch day of November, 1876, at which at least 
two-thirds of the whole number of the Council were present, 
do make the following Bye-laws and Regulations for the 
management of the several Public Parks of the Borough. 



GENERAL BYE-LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
APPLICABLE TO ALL THE PARKS. 

The Parks shall be open to the public from six o'clock in 
the morning until sunset, between the 31st March and 30th 
September, and at other times between sunrise and sunset, 
except when otherwise specially provided. 

A notice stating the time of closing shall be affixed at or 
near each of the entrances to the Parks ; and all visitors shall 
leave the Parks at the time specified in such notice. 

The Council may close any of the Parks, wholly or in part, 
on any days in the year, not exceeding seven days in the 
whole, and (unless prohibited by the conditions of the grant) 
may charge, or permit any person or persons to whom the use 
of the Park may have been given, to charge for admission on 
any of such days such sum or sums as the Council may pre- 
scribe or approve. The Council shall give at least three days' 
notice by advertisement, in one or more of the Birmingham 
newspapers, in every case of their intention to close the Parks, 
or any of them. 

Horses and carriages will be permitted to enter the Parks 
where carriage drives are specially provided ; but no horse or 
carriage shall be permitted to halt or loiter so as to impede 
the passage along the drives. 

No person shall ride or drive furiously, so as to endanger 
the safety or convenience of any person, or to injure the Park. 

No groom or horsebreaker shall exercise or train any 
horse in any part of the Parks. 



32 

The Council reserve the right to temporarily close the 
carriage drives for the purpose of repairs, or for any other 
special reason. 

Chairs on wheels moved by hand, with invalids or 
children, shall be permitted to enter and remain in the 
Parks ; but Bicycles, Velocipedes, Wheelbarrows, and 
Tracks, shall be excluded. 

No dog shall be permitted to enter or remain in the 
Parks unless led by a cord, strap, or chain ; nor shall any 
dog be put into or allowed to swim in any water in the 
Parks. 

No person shall play at Cricket, Bowls, Bandy, Quoits, 
Rounders, Football, or any other game, except in such parts of 
the Parks as may be set apart for the purpose. 

No intoxicated person shall be allowed to enter or remain 
in the Parks. 

Profane, indecent, offensive, or insulting language or 
behaviour, gambling, and soliciting alms, are strictly 
forbidden. 

No refreshments of any kind shall be hawked or sold in 
the Parks, except in the rooms, buildings, or places set apart 
for the purpose, and by persons duly authorised by the 
Council; and no intoxicating liquors shall be sold or consumed 
in the refreshment rooms or elsewhere in the Parks. 

No person shall smoke in any building in the Parks. 

Bands of music shall be allowed to play in the Parks on 
such days (Sundays excepted), in such situations, and subject 
to such conditions, as may be fixed by the Council ; but no 
band shall play in the Parks until the permission of the 
Council shall have been obtained. 

No person shall walk upon any flower bed, border, 
shrubbery, or plantation, or get over any fence, in any of 
the Parks. 



33 

No person shall go or remain in any part of the Parks 
where a notice is placed forbidding its use. 

No person shall do any damage to any of the buildings, 
walks, fences, trees, shrubs, plants, or other property 
within the Parks ; nor pluck any flower, or cut or break 
any tree or shrub therein. 

No person shall capture any bird, nor take or disturb 
any bird's nest. 

No preaching, lecture, or public discussion on any 

subject, and no meeting for the purpose of making any 

political or religious demonstration, or of holding any 
religious service, shall be allowed in the Parks. 

No person shall bathe in any water in the Parks, 
except in such as shall be specially reserved for the purpose, 
and in that water only during such times, and subject to 
such regulations, as the Council may prescribe. 

Hawkers and pedlars will not be allowed to ply their 
trades in the Parks. 

No person shall discharge any fire-arm, or wantonly 
throw or discharge any stone or other missile, or make any 
bonfire, or (except with the consent of the Council) throw or 
set fire to any fireworks in the Parks. 

No person shall wilfully interfere with or annoy any 
other person lawfully using the Parks in accordance with 
the Bye-laws. 

No person shall wilfully disturb, worry, or illtreat any 
animal, waterfowl, or fish, in the Parks, or in the waters 
thereof. 

No person shall, without permission of the Council, fish 
in any waters in the Parks. 

On the ringing of the bell, all persons must forthwith 
leave the Parks. 
C 



34 - • 

SPECIAL BYE-LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR 
CANNON HILL PARK. 

No person shall use the Bathing Pond, the Boats upon 
the Lake, or the Gymnasium Ground, or Implements, 
except within such hours, and subject to such conditions, 
as may be prescribed by the Council of the Borough from 
time to time. 

No person shall skate or slide in the Park, except with 
the consent and under the control of the Park-keeper. 

All persons guilty of any breach of the Bye-laws will be 
liable to be at once removed from the Park. 

No person shall resist a Constable or other servant of 
the Council in the discharge of his duties in the Park. 

Any person offending against the above Bye-laws and 
Regulations, or any one of them, will be liable, on summary 
conviction, to a penalty not exceeding £5. 



E. 0. SMITH, 

Town Clerk. 




REGULATIONS 

TOR 

RBDNAL HILL AND BILBERRY HILL. 

Anyone breaking or injuring any trees, shrubs, gates, 
fences, or other property,' will be prosecuted. 

Hawking of any description is strictly prohibited. 

No fires are to be lighted without special permission. 

Any person throwing stones, or using catapults or 
fire-arms, will be prosecuted. 



35 
Birds-nesting is strictly prohibited. 

Any person taking any fern or root will be prosecnted. 

Botanists and botanical parties must obtain permission 
from the Chairman of the Baths and Parks Committee 
before taking from the Hills specimen roots or ferns, or other 
plants. 

No intoxicated person shall be allowed to remain on the 
Hills. 

No Band shall play on the Hills until the permission 
of the Committee shall have been obtained. 

No preaching, lecture, or public discussion on any subject, 
and no meeting for the purpose of making any political or 
religious demonstratiou, or of holding any religious service, 
shall be allowed on the Hills. 

The public are respectfully requested to assist the keeper 
in the enforcement of the above Rules. 

By order of the Baths and Parks Committee, 

S. HEARN, 

Superintendent PtMic Parks. 

J. COX, 

Secretary Parks Department. 



36 



CITY OP BIRMINGHAM. 



CLOSED BURIAL GROUNDS. 



BYE-LAWS 

Made by the Council of the said Borough with respect to the 
Closed Burial Ground of the Church of Saint Martin, the 
Park Street Burial Grounds, the Closed Burial Ground 
of the Church of Saint Bartholomew, and the Closed Burial 
Ground of the Church of Saint Mary, in the said Borough. 



At a Meeting of the Council of this Borough, held 
pursuant to a Resolution of the Council fixing the 
same, and to notice by the Mayor, on Tuesday, 
the 4th day of April, 1882, in the Council Chamber, 
at the Council House : 

It was Resolved — 

That the following Bye-laws, made pursuant to " The 
Birmingham Closed Burial Grounds Act, 1878," with 
respect to the several Closed Burial Grounds hereinafter 
specified, that is to say, the Closed Burial Ground of the 
Church of Saint Martin, the Closed Burial Grounds com- 
monly known as the Park Street Burial Grounds, the Closed 
Burial Ground of the. Church of Saint Bartholomew, and 
the Closed Burial Ground of the Church of Saint Mary, be 
and they are hereby approved and adopted ; and that the 
Baths and Parks Committee do take all necessary steps, in 
the name and on behalf of the Council, and under the 
Corporate Common Seal, for the purpose of complying with 
the provisions of the said Act with reference to the making 
of Bye-laws. 



37 
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM. 



CLOSED BURIAL GROUNDS. 



Bye-laws made by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses 
of the Borough of Birmingham, acting by the Council, pur- 
suant to " The Birmingham Closed Burial Grounds Act, 1878 " 
(41 Vict., c. 42), with respect to the several Closed Burial 
Grounds hereinafter specified, that is to say, the Closed Burial 
Ground of the Church of Saint Martin, the Closed Burial 
Grounds commonly known as the Park Street Burial Grounds, 
the Closed Burial Ground of the Church of Saint Bartholomew, 
and tbe Closed Burial Ground of the Church of Saint Mary, 
in the said Borough. 

1. Every burial ground shall be open to the public from 
six o'clock in the morning until sunset on every day during 
the period between the 31st day of March and 30th day of 
September, both days inclusive, and from sunrise to sunset on 
every day during the period between the 1st day of October 
and the 30th day of March, both days inclusive. 

2. A person other than an officer of the Corporation, 
or a person, or a servant of a person, employed by the Corpora- 
tion in or about any work in connection with a burial ground, 
shall not on any day enter the burial ground before the time 
hereinbefore appointed for the opening thereof, or enter the 
burial ground, or remain therein, after the time hereinbefore 
appointed for the closing thereof. 

3. A person other than an officer of the Corporation, or a 
person, or a servant of a person, employed by the Corporation 
in or about any work in connection with a burial ground, shall 
not at any time drive or wheel, or cause or suffer to be driven 
or wheeled, into the burial ground of any barrow, truck, bicycle, 
tricycle, velocipede, or any machine or vehicle other than a 
wheeled chair, perambulator, or chaise, drawn or propelled by 
hand, and used solely for the conveyance of invalids or 
children. 



38 

4. A person shall not cause or suffer any dog belonging 
to him, or in his charge, to enter or remain in a burial ground, 
unless such dog be, and continue to be, under proper control, 
and be effectually restrained from damaging such burial 
ground, or any grass, trees, shrubs, plants, or ' walks therein, 
and from causing annoyance to any person. 

5. A person shall not play at cricket, bowls, bandy, 
quoits, rounders, football, or any other game in a burial 
ground. 

6. A person shall not, in a burial ground, sell, or offer 
or expose for sale, or let to hire, or expose for letting to hire, 
any commodity or article, except in the rooms, buildings, or 
places set apart by the Council for the purpose, and in accord- 
ance with the terms of any agreement between such person 
and the Council. 

7. A person shall not smoke tobacco, or other like 
substance, in any building in a burial ground. 

8. A person shall not play upon any musical instrument, 
or take part in any musical or other entertainment, in the 
Closed Burial Grounds of the Churches of Saint Mary and 
Saint Bartholomew respectively. 

A person shall not, except as is hereinafter provided, play 
upon any musical instrument, or take part in any musical 
entertainment, in the Closed Burial Ground of the Church of 
Saint Martin, and the Closed Burial Grounds commonly known 
as the Park Street Burial Grounds. 

Provided that the foregoing prohibition shall not apply in 
any case where, upon an application to the Council for per- 
mission to play upon a musical instrument, or to take part in 
a musical entertainment, the Council may grant, subject to 
compliance with such conditions as they may prescribe, per- 
mission to any person to play upon such musical instrument, or 
to take part in such musical entertainment, in the Closed Burial 
Ground of the Church of Saint Martin, or in the Closed Burial 
Grounds commonly known as the Park Street Burial Grounds. 



39 

9. A person shall not walk upon any flower bed or 
border, or in any shrubbery or plantation, or climb any fence 
in or enclosing a burial ground. 

10. A person other than an officer of the Corporation, 
or a person, or a servant of a person, employed by the Cor- 
poration in or about any work in connection with a burial 
ground, shall not enter upon any part of the ground which 
may be described in a notice or notices affixed or set up in such 
part, and may therein be declared to be closed for the time 
therein specified. 

11. A person shall not carelessly or negligently injure or 
destroy any part of any fence in or enclosing a burial ground, 
or any part of any building, barrier, or railing, or of any fixed 
or movable seat, or of any other structure or erection, or of 
any walk in the burial ground. 

12. A person shall not pluck any bud, blossom, flower, 
or leaf of any tree, sapling, shrub, or plant in a burial ground. 

13. A person shall not take, injure, or destroy any bird, 
or take or disturb any bird's nest in a burial ground. 

14. A person shall not preach or lecture, or take part in 
any public discussion on any subject, or hold or take part in 
any meeting for the purpose of making any political, religious, 
or other demonstration, or of holding any religious service in a 
burial ground. 

15. A person shall not discharge any fire-arms, or 
wantonly throw or discharge any stone or other missile, or 
make or kindle any bonfire in a burial ground. 

16. A person shall not wilfully obstruct, disturb, 
interrupt, or annoy any other person in the proper use of a 
burial ground, or wilfully obstruct, disturb, or interrupt any 
officer of the Town Council'in the proper execution of his duty 
in the burial ground. 



40 

17. A person shall not wilfully disturb, worry, or ill- 
treat any animal in a burial ground. 

18. A person shall not post a bill or placard on any 
building, erection, monument, tombstone, wall, gate, door, 
railing, fence, tree, lamp-post, walk, pavement, or elsewhere 
in a burial ground. 

19. A person shall not write, stamp, cut, print, draw, 
or mark in any manner any word or character, or any 
representation of any object, on any building, erection, 
monument, tombstone, wall, gate, door, fence, tree, lamp-post, 
walk, pavement, or seat, or elsewhere in a burial ground. 

20. Every person who offends against any of the fore- 
going Bye-laws shall be liable for every such offence to a 
penalty of Five Pounds. 

Provided, nevertheless, that the Justices or Court before 
whom any complaint may be made, or any proceedings may be 
taken, in respect of any such offence, may, if they think fit, 
adjudge the payment as a penalty of any sum less than the 
full amount of the penalty imposed by this Bye-law. 

21. Every person who in a burial ground infringes any 
of the foregoing Bye-laws may be removed from the burial 
ground by an officer of the Town Council, or by a constable, 
in any one of the several cases hereinafter specified (that is to 
say): 

(i) Where the infraction of the Bye-law is committed 
within the view of such officer or constable, and the name 
and residence of the person infringing the Bye-law are 
unknown to, and cannot be readily ascertained by, such 
officer or constable : 

(ii) Where the infraction of the Bye-law is committed 
within the view of such officer or constable, and from the 
nature of such infraction, or from any other fact of which 
such officer or constable may have knowledge, or of which 
he may be credibly informed, there may be reasonable 



41 



ground for belief that the continuance in the burial ground 
of the person infringing the Bye-law may result in another 
infraction of a Bye-law, or that the removal of such person 
from the burial ground is otherwise necessary as a security for 
the proper use and regulation thereof. 

E. 0. SMITH, 

Town Clerk. 




Allowed by the Local Government Board this 
Twenty-seventh day of May, 1882. 

J. G. DODSON, 

President. 



John Lambert, 

Secretary. 




43 



The following is a brief description of the various 
Parks and Pleasure Grounds belonging to the 
City of Birmingham, and of the manner of 
their acquirement by the Corporation. 

ADDERLEY PARK. 

This Park is situated on the east side of the city, and 
by the annexation of Saltley is now included within its 
boundaries. In the year 1855, Mr. Charles Bowyer Adderley, 
now Lord Norton, offered this land to the Town Council 
for use as a Public Park, on condition that the Council 
should lay out the Park in a proper manner, and 
permit the donor to have a share in its control, and a 
voice in the regulations relating thereto. These conditions 
being objected to, the offer was declined by the Town 
Council on the recommendation of the General Purposes 
Committee, to whom the subject had been referred. On 
the 23rd of August, 1855, Mr. Adderley wrote, stating that 
the Committee appeared to have misunderstood his offer, which 
practically amounted to a free gift of the land ; but, lest the 
public should be deprived of an expected place of recreation, 
he would himself set apart the space for public use, and for 
the purpose of a playground for all classes of the people. 

The Corporation did, however, subsequently accept Mr. 
Adderley's generous offer, but in a modified form, and a lease 
was entered into for a period of 999 years, at a peppercorn 
rent of 5s. per annum. 

The Park was completed and opened on the 30th of 
August, 1856, during the mayoralty of Thomas R. Hodgson, 
Esq., the event being celebrated by a dinner held in a marquee 
erected in the Park, and at which upwards of 400 guests sat 
down. 



Adderley Park. 

Area, 10a. Or. 22 p. 




44 

To further commemorate Mr. Adderley's generosity, the 
Council resolved, on the 9th day of December, 1862, to erect a 
suitable and imperishable monument, which took the form of a 
portrait of the donor, painted by Weigall, and deposited in the 
Corporation Art Gallery. 

The total area of this Park is about 10a. Or. 22p., of which 
about 2 acres are laid out and planted with shrubberies, 
flower beds, and suitable walks, the remainder being thrown 
open for general use as a playground, etc. The actual cost 
of maintenance is about £120 a year, including rates and taxes, 
and Park-keeper's wages, etc. 

The building fronting the Park was erected by subscrip- 
tion, promoted by Mr. Adderley. It was originally used as a 
Museum and Reading Room, but subsequently the Museum was 
transferred to Aston Hall, and the building placed under the 
management of the Pree Libraries Committee, and is now 
used as a Branch Pree Library, in connection with the 
Central Library in Ratcliff Place. 



45 



CALTHORPE PARK. 

On the 1st of April, 1856, the General Purposes Com- 
mittee presented a report to the Council, embodying an offer 
from Lord Calthorpe for letting to the Corporation a piece of 
land in the Pershore Road, and containing from 20 to 30 acres, 
for the purpose of public recreation, by way of experiment, for 
one year, at a rental of £3 per acre. This offer was accom- 
panied by the following conditions : 

1st. That the working classes shall have free admittance 
at all hours of the day during the six working 
days. 

2nd. That no person shall be admitted on the ground on 
Sunday. 

3rd. That all gambling, indecent language, and dis- 
orderly conduct be strictly prohibited. 

4th. That no wine, malt liquor, or spirituous liquor be 
sold or consumed on the ground. 

5th. That no smoking be allowed. 

6th. That no horses and carriages be permitted to enter 
the grounds, except chairs on wheels with invalids 
and children. 

7th. That no dogs be allowed to enter. 

8th. That no games be allowed except cricket, rounders, 
trap ball, battledore, quoits, gymnastics, and 
archery. 

9th. That bathing be prohibited. 

10th. That Sunday and day-school children be admitted 
on the days of their anniversary. 



Calthorpe Park. 



Area, 31a. 1 r. 13 p. 




46 

11th. That a proper number of police officers be in atten- 
dance, strictly to enforce the above regulations. 

12th. That the fences be preserved from injury. 

These proposals were considerably modified at the request 
of the Council, and the offer ultimately accepted, subject to the 
conditions referred to hereafter. 

The Park was formally opened by His Royal Highness 
the Duke of Cambridge on the 1st day of June, 1857, and 
during the mayoralty of Sir John Ratcliff, the Duke being 
the guest of the Mayor on the occasion. 

To commemorate the event, three trees of the " Cedrus 
Deodara" were planted in the centre of the Park — one by the 
Duke of Cambridge, one by Lord Calthorpe, and one by the 
Mayor. 

Two guns captured from the Russians during the Crimean 
War were sent down by the Government as ornaments for the 
Park, and these were placed in the middle of the grounds, 
mounted on their original wood carriages. These carriages 
were removed in 1887, owing to their dilapidated and unsafe 
condition. 

This Park is situated on the south side of the Borough, 
in St. Martin's Ward, and is divided from Balsall Heath Ward 
by the river Rea, which flows past a portion of the west and 
the whole of the southern boundary of the Park. It has a 
frontage to Pershore Road of about 400 yards, and is bounded 
on the east side by Speedwell Road, and on the west by Edward 
Road. The total area of the Park is about 31 acres 1 rood 13 
perches, and for several years was maintained as an open play- 
ground. Many improvements in planting and new paths have 
of late years been made : a new Lodge, used as a Park-keeper's 
residence, has also been erected at the north-east corner of 
the Park, in conjunction with the handsome entrance gates and 
ornamental iron palisading running the full length of the 
Pershore Road frontage ; the east and west boundaries are also 
protected by strong oak cleft railing, about 5 ft. 6 in. high. 



47 

A large refreshment room has been erected in the centre 
of the Park, and constructed with an octagonal roof over- 
hanging the walls some nine or ten feet, forming a 
shelter on all sides during wet weather. About five acres 
of the grounds, principally near the Pershore Road frontage, 
has recently been laid out with flower beds and shrubberies ; 
but the greater portion is still open for the free use of the 
public, and it continues, as it always has been, a favourite place 
of resort for cricket and football clubs, and during a portion of 
the year it is used as an exercising ground by the Rifle Volun- 
teers, subject to the permission of the Baths and Parks Com- 
mittee, which is applied for annually. 

The tenure of Calthorpe Park has been the subject of con- 
siderable negotiation. The Town Council became occupiers by 
permission of Lord Calthorpe in 1857, but not under any legal 
document. They wei'e therefore occupiers on sufferance, on 
payment of a nominal rent of £5. Lord Calthorpe offered 
to grant a perpetual lease to the Council at a nominal rent, but 
in consequence of his son being out of England nothing was 
done in the matter until the 30th day of April, 1862, when a 
deputation waited upon his Lordship on the subject. Lord 
Calthorpe declined then to enter into any legal agreement, 
stating that he had not been consulted as to the proposal for a 
perpetual lease ; and up to his death, which occurred on the 
2nd of May, 1868, the occupation on sufferance continued. 

In 1870, negotiations were opened with the present Lord 
Calthorpe, when, in a letter from his solicitor, dated May 23rd, 
an offer was made to grant a lease of the land for 21 years — 
the longest term, as a life-holder, he had power to give — the 
rent to be fixed at £300 per annum, with an honourable under- 
standing on his part that £295 should be returned to the 
Council. This offer the Council declined, as it would not 
have justified them in any expenditure on the Park ; and the 
Baths and Parks Committee were thereupon instructed by the 
Council to seek an interview with Lord Calthorpe, with the 
result that on the 22nd of August, 1871, they reported to 
the Council that the grant of the Park to the Corporation had 
been executed by Lord Calthorpe, and also by his lordship's 
brothers, The Hon. Augustus Calthorpe and The Hon. Somerset 



48 

Caltliorpe ; the deed had been drily enrolled in the Court of 
Chancery, and that, so far as they were individually able, 
Lord Calthorpe and his brothers divested themselves of all 
interest existing, or that might accrue thereon, in favour of 
the Corporation, as representatives of the borough. 

The difficulties which arose as to the tenure of the Park 
were due to the state of the laws as to life-holders of land : a 
proprietor who holds merely for his life can grant a lease for 
no longer term than 21 years, and can let only at a fair annual 
value. This was the reason why Lord Calthorpe had to 
require a rent of £300, and why he could only enter into an 
honourable engagement to return the £295, and these 
restrictions were made for the sake of protecting the rights of 
the successors in title. They are overcome by the generous 
deed of renunciation exercised by the members of the Calthorpe 
family. 

The annual cost of maintenance of the Park is about 
£350, including an expenditure of £150 for wages, £25 rates 
and taxes, and £4 lis. 6d. tithe rent charge. 

There is an income of £30 a year derived from the letting 
of the refreshment room and grazing land, and this is 
supplemented by about £20 a year obtained from the charges 
made for cricket and football, etc. 




^ &~~jjri£Gi~ e j£.~&-§!Z:W- 



i.o Chains. 



MOODY BRO? LITH, BIFtM? 



49 



ASTON PARK, 

Situated on the North-east side of the City, in the Manor 
of AstoD, in the County of Warwick ; distant about three 
miles from Stephenson Place, and can be reached either by 
steam tram cars leaving the Old Square, or by the London 
and North Western Railway to Aston or Witton Stations. 

Aston Hall, which stands in the centre of the Park, was 
originally the seat of the Holte family ; but for several years, 
early in the present century, was the residence of Mr. James 
Watt, son of the eminent engineer, and for a short time after 
the death of this gentleman it was occupied by the late Mr. 
James Shaw, and afterwards remained vacant for a con- 
siderable period. This building and the Museum contained 
therein is now under the care of the Museum and School of 
Art Committee. 

The first reference to the purchase of this Park appears 
in the minutes of the Council for the 6th of August, 1850, 
when, at a Quarterly Meeting of the Council held on that day, 
the Mayor, Mr. William Lucy, informed the Council that he 
had received an offer of the Aston Park Estate, which con- 
tained about 170 acres, and which the proprietors valued at 
£150,000, and suggested the propriety of entering into a 
treaty for its purchase as a place of public recreation and 
amusement for the burgesses whom they represented. A com- 
mittee was thei'eupon appointed to open a communication with 
the owners, Messrs. Greenway, Greaves, and Whitehead, 
bankers, of Warwick, with a view of obtaining the refusal of 
the purchase until the end of the next session of Parliament, 
the Council not having up to that date obtained any powers 
which would enable them to purchase the estate out of the 
rates of the Borough. On the 29th October following, the 
committee reported that Mr. Bobbins, the agent, declined to 
enter into any treaty of the kind proposed, and consequently 

the matter was deferred for some considerable time. 
P 



Aston Park. 




50 

In 1854, an Act of Parliament was obtained which, enabled 
the Council to purchase land for such purposes as those 
referred to, and was called 

"THE BIRMINGHAM PARKS ACT." 

On the 22nd August, 1856, the subject was again brought 
forward in the Council, and the Committee were instructed, in 
conjunction with the Borough Surveyor, to communicate with 
the owners, and ascertain the terms upon which the estate 
could be acquired, the result of which was reported to the 
Council on the 31st of October following, stating that they had 
instructed Mr. John L. Hornblower to select from Aston Park 
such an eligible portion as might be purchased for the sum of 
£30,000, including the Hall and buildings adjoining, and to 
submit a plan, with a report and full particulars thereon. 

In reply, Mr. Hornblower selected about eighty-two acres 
of the land (including a large pool, now filled up), and 
immediately surrounding the Hall, as being specially suited to 
the requirements of a Public Park, and he valued the same at 
£23,000. The whole area of the estate at that time was 
from 160 to 170 acres, valued by Mr. Hornblower at 
£50,000. The proprietors had, however, set a much higher 
value upon the land, and estimated the selected eighty-two acres 
at £60,900 ; and a still narrower circle of land surrounding the 
Hall, containing about thirty acres, they valued at £24,500. 
To this sum the Council demurred, and instructed the Com- 
mittee to ascertain if any reduction in the price could be 
obtained, and to report thereon, with such recommendations as 
they thought fit to make as to the extent of land they deemed 
it desirable to purchase, and tbe price which should be given 
by the Council for the same. The proprietors, however, 
declined to make any reduction or abatement whatever, as they 
considered the land alone to be worth the sum mentioned, the 
Hall to be given into the bai'gain. Upon this being reported 
to the Council, on the 6th of January, 1857, the Committee 
were instructed to obtain particulars as to the areas and cost 
of Public Parks in other large towns, and from their report it 
was seen that while Birmingham was as yet without any Public 
Park, Nottingham had two, one of which was eighty acres in 



51 

extent, and the other fifty acres ; Leeds and Bradford had one 
each of sixty-two acres ; Glasgow three, covering a total area 
of 300 acres ; and Derby had one of sixteen acres. 

Whilst the Council were thus hesitating as to the steps they 
should take, and the price which should be paid for the land, a 
Limited Liability Company was formed for the purchase of a 
portion of the estate, including the Hall, with a view to its 
conversion into a place of public recitation and amusement, on 
the model of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, opened a 
few years previously. The object of the Company, as stated in 
their Memorandum of Association, was — 

1st. To purchase the Park, etc., with a view to derive a 
profit from such purchase, and thereby to com- 
pensate the Company for outlay. 

2nd. With ultimate intention, after providing such com- 
pensation, to appropriate the Hall and premises 
to the use of the public, so far as to admit the 
public thereto, and to apply all profits to the 
maintenance and improvement of the Hall and 
premises, and not for any pecuniary benefit of the 
company of shareholders. 

The purchase money for the Hall and 43 acres of land 
amounted to £35,000, and when the transfer was completed 
there was a universal desire that the Queen should be asked to 
open the Park in person, and that desire was conveyed by 
the Mayor, Mr. John Eatcliff, to the Earl of Shaftesbury 
by letter, dated March 6th, 1858, and in which the whole 
purpose of the acquisition of the estate was set forth, and 
describing the beauties thereof, and the advantage to be 
derived by the inhabitants of Birmingham thereby. On 
the 15th day of April the Mayor received Her Majesty's reply, 
stating that she would be willing to visit Birmingham some 
day during the week beginning 13th June. 

On the 27th April a special meeting of the Town Council 
was held, to receive a report from the General Purposes 
Committee as to the arrangements to be made for the reception 



52 

of Her Majesty, and to consider the form of the address which 
was to be presented on the occasion. These were finally 
approved and adopted by the Council on the 7th day of 
June, and on the 15th of that month the inhabitants of 
Birmingham were honoured by the presence of their 
Sovereign and her illustrious Consort, who arrived at the New 
Street Station of the London and North Western Railway 
shortly after twelve o'clock. The Mayor and Town Clerk, in 
full official municipal costumes, were in attendance to receive 
and conduct their royal visitors to the Town Hall. Her 
Majesty and suite were escorted by a detachment of the 10th 
Hussars, the royal carriage being preceded by the carriage 
containing the Mayor and Town Clerk, with the Mayor's 
Chaplain. The procession passed through some of the principal 
streets to the Town Hall, and alighting at the front entrance 
thereto, in Paradise Street, the proceedings commenced with 
the singing of the National Anthem by the choir, after which 
addresses were presented to Her Majesty and to the Prince 
Consort by the Mayor, each address having been previously 
read by the Town Clerk. To these addresses Her Majesty and 
the Prince Consort made gracious and suitable replies ; and at the 
conclusion of the Prince's reply, the Secretary of State com- 
municated to the Mayor Her Majesty's commands for him to 
approach the throne. The Mayor having obeyed, Her Majesty, 
receiving a sword from her Equerry, conferred the honour of 
knighthood upon Mr. John Ratcliff. Mr. Alderman Hodgson 
and Mr. Alderman Palmer, the mover and seconder of the 
address to Her Majesty, and Mr. Alderman Phillips and Mr. 
Alderman Carter, the mover and seconder of the address to 
the Prince Consort, were severally presented to Her Majesty, 
and had the honour of kissing hands. The other members of 
the Council were then individually introduced to the Queen. 

The Royal Party, accompanied by the Mayor, Town 
Clerk, the Members of the Town Council, City Magistrates, etc., 
proceeded to Aston Hall, when Her Majesty, after partaking 
of luncheon, received an address from the Interim Managers 
of the Aston Park Company, and then formally inaugurated 
the opening of the Hall and Park. At the conclusion of the 
ceremony, the Royal Party proceeded to the temporary railway 
station jtt Aston, from whence they took their departure j 



53 

previous to her departure, Her Majesty expressed to the Mayor 
her high gratification at the welcome she had received. 

The Hall and Park thus opened became one of the most 
popular resorts in the Midland Counties, until the year 1863, 
when an unfortunate occurrence attended one of the per- 
formances provided by the Company, whereby a woman named 
Powell, and styling herself "Female Blondin," was killed 
instantaneously by the breaking of the rope upon which she 
was performing at a great height from the ground. A con- 
siderable amount of excitement and indignation was created 
that the Company should sanction such dangerous exhibitions, 
and this was heightened by a letter addressed to the Mayor by 
command of the Queen, in which Her Majesty expressed her 
personal disapproval of such an exhibition, and hoping that the 
Mayor, in common with the rest of her people, would use their 
influence to prevent such exhibitions in the Park which Her 
Majesty and the Prince Consort had been pleased to open, in 
the hope that it would be used for the healthy exercise and 
rational recreation of the people. This unfortunate occurrence 
was partly instrumental in bringing about the acquisition of 
the Hall and Park by the Town Council, for at the same meet- 
ing of the Council at which Her Majesty's letter was read, a 
copy of two resolutions, passed at a meeting of the Aston Park 
Company, was also received, informing the Council that, in 
the opinion of the managers, the recent calamity that occurred 
during the holding of a Foresters' fete in the Park would con- 
siderably increase the difficulties in securing the Hall and Park 
on the original plan of the Limited Liability Act, and therefore 
the Company were desirous that steps should be taken to 
arrange with the Corporation for the completion of the pur- 
chase, and requesting the Mayor to take such steps as he may 
deem advisable in reference thereto. As a result of this com- 
munication, the Mayor (Alderman Sturge) addressed a letter 
to the Lord Lieutenant of the County, Lord Leigh, stating that 
the Company would be unable to hold possession of the pro- 
perty much longer ; and with a view of securing it for the use 
of the people, the Mayor suggested that, if the county would 
raise the sum of £8,000 towards its purchase, he would move 
the Town Council to vote £20,000 for completing the sum 
that was required to effect the purchase. 



54 

Lord Leigh, after consulting the magistrates of the 
county, declined to take any steps in the matter, and while 
the question was pending, a second letter, dated November 
4th, 1863, was addressed to the Mayor by the Queen's 
Secretary, stating that Her Majesty was unwilling to believe 
there could be any difficulty in acquiring the Pai'k for 
public use. The question was then brought before the 
Town Council on the 15th day of December, 1863, when 
the proposed purchase was rejected by 40 votes to 12. 
This led to a private subscription being raised in aid of the 
purchase, and a sum of £7,000 was contributed, £2,000 being 
given by Mr. George Dixon, and his brother, Mr. Abraham 
Dixon ; £1,000 each were also given by Miss Kyland, 
Thomas Lloyd, Esq., and G. F. Muntz, Esq., and other amounts 
by the following donors : William Middlemore, Esq., £500 ; 
Richard Greaves, Esq., Edward Greaves, Esq., M.P., and 
Jeffry Berington Lowe, Esq., £500 ; Archibald and Timothy 
Kenrick, Esqs., £500 ; Sampson S. Lloyd and George 
Braithwaite Lloyd, Esqs., £200 ; Alfred and Douglas 
Evans, Esqs., £200 ; and Charles and James Shaw, Esqs., 
£100. As before stated, the total purchase-money was 
£35,000, and of this sum the Company had paid £9,000, 
leaving a balance of £26,000. This amount was now reduced to 
£19,000, and the Council, after receiving a deputation from 
the donors, agreed on the 2nd of February, 1864, to pay the 
balance, and purchase the property. The resolution for the 
purchase was met with three amendments, but was ultimately 
carried by 34 votes to 14. 

The Company was formally wound up on the 7th August, 
1866, and all the shareholders relinquished their claims thereto. 
The purchase was completed by the Corporation on the 12th 
of September, 1864, and on the 22nd of that month the Hall 
and Park were opened free to the public, for their use and 
enjoyment for ever, the event being celebrated by a banquet 
given in the long gallery of the Hall by Mr. W. Holliday, the 
Mayor. The total area of the Park, as purchased by the 
Corporation, was 43 acres ; and in 1873 a field adjoining, con- 
taining about 6 acres, was purchased at a cost of £4,750, 
making a total area of the grounds at present about forty-nine 
and one quarter acres. About 15 acres of this land imme- 



55 

diately surrounding the Hall is laid out with flower beds, tennis 
lawn and bowling green, and the remainder is devoted to tbe 
public for general recreation. In addition to the Pai-k and 
Grounds, the company handed over to the Corporation a large 
number of interesting and valuable articles deposited in the 
different apartments of the hall, most of them having been 
presented by the various donors. The Company had also erected 
certain buildings, including a glass pavilion on the south side 
of the Hall, which cost upwards of £1,300 ; they also effected 
many improvements on the estate, at a total outlay of from 
£6,000 to £7,000. 

Aston Hall was made use of for the exhibition of works of 
art, antiquities, and natural history collections, etc. ; but with 
the opening of the New Art Gallery at the Council House the 
principal objects of interest were transferred to that building. 
Other attractions have, however, been added, including the 
allocation of an apartment known as the Johnson room, to 
commemorate the connection of Dr. Samuel Johnson with 
Birmingham. Tn 1883 a large portion of the wainscoting and 
other fittings of one of the rooms of a house in the Old Square 
where Dr. Johnson was a frequent visitor, and at one time 
occupied by his friend Mr. Edmund Hector, were removed, 
and re-fitted in this room, together with other Johnson relics 
presented at the same time. 

The Hall was placed under the control and management 
of the Baths and Parks Committee until the year 1887, when, 
by resolution of the Council, on the 7th day of July, that 
building was transferred to the care of the Museum and 
School of Art Committee, the Park and outbuildings still re- 
maining under the control of this Committee. In 1887, the 
glass pavilion previously referred to was taken down, and the 
materials disposed of, thus enabling the Committee to restore 
the original character and appearance of the south side of 
the Hall. 

The principal entrance to the Park is from Church Road, 
through a gateway formerly used by the tenants of the Hall, 
and having a keeper's lodge on either side. These lodges are 
now occupied by workmen employed in the Park. A carriage 



56 

drive leads from this gateway tip rising ground direct to the 
front entrance of the mansion, and is continued round the four 
sides of the Park. On the west side of the Hall is the court- 
yard, with a large range of buildings once used as stabling and 
coach-houses ; but, on the acquisition of the property by the 
Corporation, these buildings were re-constructed for the pur- 
pose of refreshment and tea rooms and domestic apartments 
for the use of the persons to whom these rooms were let. 
Further alterations were made to these buildings in 1890 by 
the construction of additional rooms for the accommodation of 
the head gardener, who had hitherto resided some distance 
from the Park. 

The expense of maintaining the Hall and Park, in addition 
to the interest and sinking fund, was about £1,500 per annum. 
The cost of maintaining the Park only, since the transfer of 
the Hall to the Museum and School of Art Committee, is about 
£750 a year, including about £430 for wages, and £74 for 
rates and taxes. There is an income of £40 a year derived 
from the letting of the refreshment room, and from £20 to 
£25 from the charges made in connection with the various 
games played in the Park. 

The total cost of the Park to the Corporation, including 
the purchase of the additional land, and for works of restora- 
tion, etc., was £26,750, borrowed for repayment during a term 
of fifty years. Of this amount, £12,188 8s. 4d. has been 
repaid up to the 31st March, 1891. 

There are several glass houses erected in the Park, for the 
purpose of propagating plants used in the flower beds. The 
total area of these is about 313 square yards. 

The staff consists of one Head Gardener, with seven 
assistant gardeners. 







\ v 



Links 100 50 



Scale of Chains 

2 3 4 5 6 



57 



CANNON HILL PARK. 

During the nine years following the acquisition of Aston 
Park, no addition was made to our Public Parks until 1873, 
when a fourth Park was contributed by the munificent 
generosity of Miss Louisa Ann Ryland, of Barford Hill, 
Warwickshire, the representative of an old Birmingham 
family. 

The Park is situated on the south-west side of the City, 
just outside its newly-extended boundary, in the county of 
Worcester, and in the parish of Kings Norton. It is in 
close proximity to Calthorpe Park, and divided therefrom 
by one or two fields of pasture land on the opposite side of 
the river Rea. Before its presentation to the town, the 
grounds consisted of pasture laud, on which grew some fine 
forest trees, but Miss Ryland most geuerously, at her own 
expense, caused it to be drained, laid out, and planted, so as 
to render it suitable for the purpose of a Park. 

Mr. J. T. Gibsou, of Battersea, was employed by Miss 
Ryland to execute the work, and under his direction about 
35 acres were devoted to ornamental gardening, including 
shrubberies, etc., in which were planted many rare and choice 
trees, shrubs, and evergreens. Two large pools, surrounded 
with walks and plantations, were also constructed, with 
smaller ponds adjoining. The largest of these pools covers an 
area of about 15,000 square yards, and the other about 10,200 
square yards : a suitable boathouse is erected between the two. 
On the north side of the Park a large bathing pool was 
constructed, and enclosed with high wood fencing and shrubs. 
This pool is about 216 feet in length by 100 feet in width, 
and has a depth varying from 2 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 
6 inches. The bottom is formed of concrete, and water 
is supplied from a small stream which has its source within 
the boundaries of the Park. One long dressing-shed, divided 



F 



Cannon Hill Park. 

Area, 57 a. Or. 13 p. 

b i n 










lie i'^'/ at 






Scale of Chains. 

Links 100 50 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 

bn i lm.l i I I I I I I 



58 

into several compartment?, is erected on the south side of 
the pool, and is paved with blue bricks, the remaining 
portions of the promenade being formed of turf. The 
Bathing pool is let to the lessee of the Boating pool 
and Refreshment room, and the charge for admission is one 
penny. In addition to laying out of the Park and the 
formation of the Boating and Bathing pools, Miss Ryland 
provided a spacious ornamental pavilion, for use as a 
Refreshment room. This building is 45 feet in length by 25 
feet in width, and the roof is specially constructed to form 
shelter on either side for the comfort and convenience of visitors 
thereto. The cost of erecting the picturesque building as a Park- 
keeper's lodge, with the principal entrance gates, and the cast- 
iron ornamental palisading on either side, was also defrayed by 
Miss Ryland, there being no expenditure incurred by the 
Corporation beyond the ordinary cost of maintenance and 
the erection of greenhouses, etc. 

The Park was opened to the public on the 1st day of 
September, 1873, by Mr. Alderman Biggs (Mayor) ; but, by 
Miss Ryland's express desire, there was no ceremony on the 
occasion, and although the Corporation were most desirous 
that the Park should bear the name of the donor, Miss Ryland 
declined to assent to the request. To every visitor to the Park 
on the day of the opening was presented, as a memento of the 
occasion, a card bearing the following insmption : 

" CANNON HILL PARK, Opened 1st September, 1873. 

" Through the bounty of God, I have great pleasure 
in giving Cannon Hill Park to the Corporation of 
Birmingham, for the use of the people of the town 
and neighbourhood, i would express my earnest hope 
that the park may prove a source of healthful recrea- 
tion to the people of birmingham, and that they will 
aid in the protection and preservation of what is now 

their own property. 

"LOUISA ANN RYLAND. 

"Barford Hill, Warwick." 

The principal entrance to the Park is in Edgbaston Road, 
and the carriage drive therefrom is planted on either side with 
forest trees. 



59 

On the south-west corner of the Park a Students' Garden 
has been formed, for the special nse of Botanical Students, 
and adjoining is a pleasant retreat called "The Fernery." 
Here is a small pond in which grow aquatic plants, and nearly 
every variety of English fern may be found on its banks. From 
this point a delightful view is obtained of the adjacent country. 

For the purpose of propagating the various kinds of plants 
used in the extensive flower beds in this Park, and for supply- 
ing similar plants to the smaller parks and gardens of the city, 
six greenhouses have been erected near the Park-keeper's lodge, 
the whole having an area of about 435 square yards, including 
glass frames, etc, 

The staff consists of one Park-keeper and nine gardeners 
(exclusive of the Parks Superintendent, who resides at the 
lodge). The Park-keeper and head gardener reside in two 
small cottages on a portion of the land included in Miss 
Ryland's gift, but situated outside of the Park boundary, 
and which was left undisturbed when the Park was laid out. 

The annual cost of maintenance (exclusive of the Super- 
intendent's salary) is about £1,100 per annum, including 
about £660 for wages, £60 rates and taxes, and £380 for 
general maintenance. 

The following income is derived from various sources : 





£ 


s 


d. 


Rent of Refreshment Room premises.. 


. 60 








„ Boating Pool ... 


. 120 








„ Bathing „ 


. 40 








,, Grazing Land ... 


. 35 









Total ...£255 

To this must be added about £70 a year derived from the 
charges made for use of the various appliances provided by the 
Corporation, in connection with some of the games played in 
the Park, and from the sale of grass, hire of chairs, etc. 



Highgate Park 

Area, 8 a. 3 r. 28 p. 




Links loo 50 

1'ii ili m i 



Scale of Chains. 

2 3 4 5 6 7 

- I I I I I =t= 



io Chains. 



61 



HIGHGATE PARK. 

On the 25th of May, 1875, the Council sanctioned the 
purchase of the land for the formation of this Park, which is 
on the south-east side of the City, adjoining the Moseley 
Road, having an area of ahout 8a. 3r. 28p., with frontages 
to Moseley Road, Chandos Road, and Alcester Street, 
formerly known as " Hollier's Charity Land." The upper 
portion is tastefully laid out with ornamental flower beds, 
shrubberies, and well-kept lawn, and is divided from the 
lower part by a broad gravelled terrace, to which access is 
gained by means of two flights of wide stone steps. 

About 5,445 square yards of the lower ground is covered 
with asphalte, to serve as a playground for the children living 
in that densely-populated neighbourhood. 

The principal entrance is on the east side, near the Moseley 
Road, adjoining which is the Park-keeper's lodge ; there are 
also other entrances from Moseley Road, Chandos Road, and 
Alcester Street. 

The Park was opened by Joseph Chamberlain, Esq., 
Mayor, on the 2nd of June, 1876. The cost of the land was 
about £8,000, to which must be added £7,149 for laying out 
and fencing, etc., making a total expenditure of £15,149. 
This, however, was subsequently reduced by the sale of a 
portion of the land to the Birmingham School Board for £628. 
Another portion of the land, divided from the Park by 
Chandos Road, containing about 2,000 square yards, is 
reserved as a site for the erection of Public Baths thereon. 
The massive bronze fountain which for many years stood 
in the centre of the Market Hall was removed to this Park 
and formally opened by the then Mayor, Richard Chamberlain, 
Esq. 



62 

The annual cost of maintenance is about £350 a year, in- 
cluding about £200 for wages, £7 rates and taxes, and £3 
for tithe rent charges. 

The staff consists of one resident Park-keeper and three 

assistants 



63 



SUMMERFIELD PARK. 

In the month following that of the opening of Highgate 
Park, Summerfield Park was also opened to the public. 
The opening ceremony was performed on the 29th day of 
July, 1876, by Mr. Alderman Baker, who had been elected 
to the mayoralty, on Mr. Joseph Chamberlain becoming a 
Member of Parliament for the Borough. The area of the 
Park at that time was a little over twelve acres, and was 
purchased by the Corporation for the sum of £8,000, including 
the mansion, for many years the residence of the late 
Mr. Lucas Chance, and which stood in the centre of the 
grounds. The lower part of the house was fitted up and used 
as refreshment and tea rooms, and the upper portion retained 
as a residence for the Park-keeper until 1889, when it was 
demolished and the site cleared for the erection of a band- 
stand thereon. The Park-keeper is now located in a cottage 
near the Dudley Road entrance to the Park, also included 
in the original purchase. The Park is situated on the north- 
west side of the city, between the Dudley Road and Icknield 
Port Road, having entrances from both roads. The cost of 
laying out the grounds and erecting the two large entrance 
gates, with ornamental palisading the whole length of the 
Dudley Road frontage, was about £3,587, making a total 
expenditure of £11,587. Towards this amount a loan of 
£10,700 was obtained, repayable in sixty years. In 1883, Mr. 
Henry Weiss transferred to the Corporation a piece of land 
adjoining the Park, and containing a little over one acre in 
extent, subject to certain conditions, which included an 
additional entrance from the Gillott Road, and that other 
roads were formed at a cost of about £325. 

At a meeting of the City Council, held on the 3rd of 
December, 1889, the Baths and Parks Committee reported 
that they had received an offer from Mr. William Morris, of 
Dudley Road, to sell five acres or thereabouts of his land 



abutting on the western side of this Park, for the sum of 
£2,500. The Committee also reported that the City Surveyor 
had submitted to them a plan, prepared by Messrs. Chesshire, 
Gibson, and Co., showing the proposed laying out of the 
Rotton Park Estate preparatory to its being offered for sale, 
together with other information as to the formation of roads 
about to be constructed, subject to the necessary sanction of 
the Chancery Division of the High Court, to whom applica- 
tion was about to be made. 

The Committee therefore pointed out to the Council that 
unless this land was acquired, no future extension of the 
Park would be possible, and as they had for a long time 
seen that its area, 13 acres, was altogether insufficient to 
meet the requirements of the lai'ge and increasing population 
of the neighbourhood, they had on several occasions 
approached Mr. Morris, in order to secure the land for 
its enlargement, but they had hitherto been unable to obtain 
from him a reasonable offer. The Committee there- 
fore believed that the present opportunity should be taken 
advantage of, and recommended the Council to give the 
necessary authority to acquire the land in question for the sum 
of £2,500, and that the Finance Committee be instructed and 
authorised to borrow that sum under the provision of the 
statutes in that behalf. 

It was moved by Mr. Alderman Barrow, seconded by 
Councillor Walsh, and 

Resolved — 

(15,192). That in accordance with the recommendations 
contained in the report of the Baths and Parks Committee now 
presented, the said Committee be and they are hereby 
authorised and instructed to purchase from Mr. William 
Morris about five acres of land, abutting on the western side of 
Summerfield Park, at a cost of £2,500, for the purpose of 
enlarging and improving the said Park ; that the Finance 
Committee be instructed to borrow, under the provisions of 
the Statutes in that behalf, the sum of £2,500 for such 
purposes, and that for the several purposes aforesaid the said 



65 

Committees respectively do take all such steps, in the name 
and on behalf of this Council, and, when requisite, under the 
Corporate Common Seal, as they may deem advisable. 

The sanction of the Local Government Board was 
subsequently obtained in respect thereto, and the work was 
carried out under the supervision of the City Surveyor and the 
officials of the Baths and Parks Department. 

On the 6th of May, 1890, the Committee reported to the 
City Council that the conveyance from Mr. Morris to the Cor- 
poration of five acres or thereabouts of land adjoining 
Summerfield Park had been completed, and that with regard 
to the levelling, laying out, and planting of the land, the 
Committee estimated that the sum of £250 would be required 
for that purpose ; also that it would be necessary to erect 
suitable fencing on the boundary adjoining the GKllott estate, at 
a cost of £300. The Committee further reported that they 
were unanimously in favour of the provision of a band-stand 
at this Park, as at present no accommodation existed for 
the shelter and protection of the band, as was the case at 
Victoria and Cannon Hill Parks. The Committee therefore 
proposed, with the sanction of the Council, to erect a suitable 
band-stand at a cost of £200. 

The total sum proposed to be expended for the above- 
named purposes was £750, and by Resolution No. 15,315 the 
Committee were authorised to proceed with the several works 
at the cost named. 

On the 5th day of May, 1891, the Baths and Parks Com- 
mittee further reported to the City Council that they had 
had under consideration the probable erection of dwelling- 
houses on the north-west side of Summerfield Park, the only 
remaining direction in which any extension of the Park was 
possible, and stated that the Park is bounded on its other 
sides by the Dudley Road, the backs of houses abutting on 
the Icknield Port Road, and the Harborne Railway ; and the 
land on the north-west side, which is the property of the 
trustees of the late Joseph Gillott, is now mapped out, and 
will shortly be offered for building purposes. 



66 

The Committee therefore found themselves confronted 
with the imperative necessity of taking steps to secure a 
portion of this land, or of abandoning any future hope of 
extending the boundaries of the Park, however desirable such 
extension may eventually appear. 

The Committee also desired to point out to the Council 
that the Park is situated in a populous and rapidly developing 
district. Its present area is only 18a. Or. 9p , and while on 
general grounds an addition to this area would be of material 
value on a favourable opportunity arising, the existing circum- 
stances compel immediate action. 

The Committee further reported that they had, in con- 
ference with the City Surveyor, approached Messrs. Cheshire, 
Gibson, and Co., the Surveyors to the Gillott Trustees, and 
obtained from them a provisional offer of 16a. lr. 20p., or 
thereabouts, at the rate of £550 per acre, with the condition 
attached that the Corporation shall construct a road shown 
on the plan, and adopt the same as a public highway. 

The construction of such a road, in the event of the land 
referred to being acquired, presents great advantages, as, with 
the exception of a limited frontage to Dudley Road, the only 
approaches to the Park consist of narrow entrances from 
Icknield Port Road and Gillott Road. 

The Committee consider that the offer made is fair and 
reasonable, having regard to the price per yard at which 
similar land in the immediate neighbourhood is being let on 
building leases. Before, however, the arrangements can be 
carried out, it will be necessary for the trustees to obtain the 
approval of the Chancery Division of the High Court. 

The Committee therefore recommended the Council to 
authorise them to acquire from the Gillott Trustees (subject to 
the approval of the Chancery Division of the High Court) the 
piece of land in question, adjoining Sunimerfield Park, on the 
north-west side, 16a. lr. 20p. or thereabouts, in extent, for the 
purpose of enlarging and improving the Park ; and to arrange 



67 

for the construction of the road referred to, and that the 
Finance Committee be instructed and authorised to borrow 
the amount required for such purposes. 

The recommendations of the Committee, contained in the 
foregoing report, were, after a short discussion, approved by 
the City Council ; and they were authorised to adopt such 
measures, in the name and on behalf of the Council, as they 
may deem necessary for carrying their recommendations into 
effect. The Finance Committee were also authorised and 
instructed to borrow the sum of £9,700 for the purposes named. 
The interest and sinking fund thereon is estimated at £375 per 
annum. 

Following are the details of the approximate cost to lay 
out, level, and drain the new piece of land, also to provide the 
additional iron fencing that will be required for the extended 
boundary, with two new entrance gates, one leading from the 
City Road on the north side of the Park, and one leading from 
the Gillott Road, on the western side. It is also proposed to 
erect additional shelters and closet accommodation in connection 
therewith : 

Fencing Park side of new road with unclimbable iron 

railings -------- £400 

Entrance gates and piers at the junction of City Road 
and new road, and a new approach from Gillott 
road -------- 350 

Closets and Urinals ------ 200 

Shelter - 400 

Drives and walks ------- 350 

Drainage of walks and buildings - - - - 100 

Trees, shrubs, and planting ----- 500 

Fencing for shrubberies - - - - - - 100 

Re-erecting unclimbable fencing in new position ; 
supervision of works, Surveyor's charges, and 
sundries -------- 150 

£2,550 



68 

These extensions have enabled the Committee to con- 
siderably improve and increase the area of the ornamental 
portion of this Park, by transferring the site for all games, 
such as cricket, football, etc., to the newly acquired land 
in the rear, and to lay out the land hitherto used for such 
purposes, adjoining the Dudley Road, with flower beds, 
shrubberies, and lawn. The total area of the Park, when 
completed, will be 34 acres 1 rood 29 poles, of which about 
10 acres are laid out with walks and garden, lawn for tennis, 
and bowling green, etc. 

The staff consists of one resident Park-keeper and three 
assistants. The annual cost of maintenance is about £400 per 
annum, including £200 for wages, and £40 for rates and taxes. 
There are two greenhouses, with an area of 95 square yards, 
for propagating plants used in this Park. 



69 



THE VICTORIA PARK, 
SMALL HEATH. 

On the 2nd day of June, 1876, it was announced that 
Miss Ryland had offered another noble gift to the town, by the 
presentation of about forty-three acres of land in the Coventry 
Road, on the south-east side of the Borough, for the purpose 
of a Public Park for that district. At the time of its presen- 
tation, the land was in a state adapted for agricultural 
purposes, with the exception of that portion fronting Coventry 
Road, upon which stood the large mansion known as "The 
Rylands," and for many years the residence of General Dixon. 
This house was pulled down, and the site covered with lawn 
and shrubberies, etc., in 1883. 

The estimates prepared by the Baths and Parks Com- 
mittee for suitably converting the land for the purpose of a 
Park were deemed too costly by the Town Council, whereupon 
Miss Ryland, having approved of the plans, signified her wish 
to contribute £4,000 towards the outlay. With the aid of 
this contribution the Park was appropriately laid out by the 
Borough Surveyor, and a large pool constructed for boating 
and for the habitation of water fowl, and an ornamental 
refreshment room erected in the centre of the Park. This 
Park, like that at Cannon Hill, has the advantage of including 
a large number of old forest trees. 

A large open-air swimming bath has also been formed, 
having a water area of 138 feet in length, with an average 
width of 70 feet, and fitted up with excellent dressing com- 
partments and other conveniences. 

The Park was opened to the public on the 5th day of 
April, 1879, daring the mayoralty of Alderman Jesse Collings. 
The total cost of laying out, draining, and fencing in, with the 



70 

erection of the Park-keeper's lodge and the refreshment-room 
pavilion, and recent extensions, was about £16,000, reduced to 
£10,000 by Miss Ryland's two contributions of £4,000 and 
£2,000 respectively. 

In the laying out of the Park, a piece of land containing 
about 3,250 square yards, having a frontage of 45 yards to the 
Wordsworth Road, was set apart as a possible site for the 
erection of a suite of Baths thereon. In 1880 a well was 
sunk on the site, at a cost of £1,300 ; and in 1887 the Baths 
and Parks Committee, with the approval of the Council, 
erected a new pumping station, with machinery in connection 
therewith, at a cost of £785, for the purpose of supplying the 
boating pool and the open-air swimming bath with water 
during the summer months. The total quantity of water 
required for this purpose during the season is about five 
million gallons. 

A carriage drive, 24 feet iu width, extends the whole 
distance round the Park. The land between this drive and the 
boundary fence on all sides is laid out with ornamental flower 
beds, shrubberies, and lawn, and the whole of the area within 
the drive is thrown open for the general use of the public, and 
upon which the various games of cricket, football, lawn 
tennis, &c, are played. The total area of the Park is 43^ 
acres, including about 27 acres of ornamental grounds and the 
various walks, which average from 9 to 16 feet in width. 

In 1887, a band-stand, octagonal in shape, and construc- 
ted with iron columns and wood framework, was erected at 
the south-west side of the Park, at a cost of £150. 

On the 23rd day of March, 1887, Her Majesty the Queen, 
accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and 
Princess Henry of Battenberg, visited Birmingham; and 
shortly after their arrival at the Small Heath railway 
station, the Royal Party, accompanied by His "Worship the 
Mayor, Alderman Thomas Martineau, Esq., and the Town 
Clerk, E. O. Smith, Esq., and escorted by a detachment of 
7th Hussars, drove round the Park, entering and leaving 
through the principal entrance in Coventry Road. Previous 



71 

to the arrival of the procession, from 40,000 to 50,000 school 
children had assembled, under the care of their respective 
teachers, for the purpose of giving Her Majesty a right royal 
welcome. The whole of the children were formed in two or 
three lines on each side of the carriage drive, the general 
public being excluded from the Park on that occasion. 

To commemorate the event, Her Majesty subsequently 
gave permission, on the application of the Town Council 
through the Mayor, to substitute the name of " The Victoria 
Park" for that of Small Heath Park. The scene in the 
Park has also been selected as one of the subjects of the 
Jubilee memorial windows placed in the great hall of the 
Victoria Courts. 

At a meeting of the Council on the 25th of October, 1887, 
the Committee reported that the land on the south and south- 
west sides of the Park was about to be appropriated for 
building purposes ; and, with a view of preventing the erection 
of house property close up to the boundary of the Park, the 
Committee opened negotiations, through the Borough 
Surveyor, with Messrs. Willmott, Fowler, and Willmott, agents 
to the owner of the land, W. T. Taylor, Esq., and they 
ascertained that Mr. Taylor was willing to dispose of a strip 
of land on the two sides of the Park mentioned, and contain- 
ing a total area of 1^ acre, to the Corporation ; Mr. Taylor 
was also willing to appropriate about 4 acres of the land ad- 
joining for the purpose of forming a new roadway, 50 yards 
wide, providing the Corporation would erect suitable park 
fences for separating the Park from the new road, such fence 
to be of an ornamental character, and undertake to keep the 
said land so purchased open and used as a Park for ever. 
The Corporation were also to construct the new road, and 
sewer the same, Mr. Taylor to pay half the costs. The 
Surveyor estimated the cost to the Corporation as follows : 

Half -cost of Road ... £1,800 
Cost of Park Railings 500 

Cost of 1£ acre of Land 750 

£3,050 



72 

This amount was exclusive of labour for planting the new 
land, which, if done by workmen employed by the Committee, 
would not exceed £150. Miss Ryland having been informed 
of the proposals, most generously offered to present the sum of 
£2,000 towards the cost of the improvements, thus leaving 
the sum of £1,050 to be provided by the Corporation. 



At a meeting of the Public Works Committee, on the 
17th day of October, the Committee decided to relieve the 
Baths and Parks Committee of any further responsibility in 
respect to the formation of the new road; and, subject to the 
approval of the Council, to defray the cost out of the balance 
that Committee had received from the Drainage Board from 
tanks, etc., still in hand. The arrangement was approved by 
the Council by Minute No. 14,548, and on the motion of Mr. 
Alderman White, seconded by Mr. Alderman Barrow, the offer 
of Miss Ryland to contribute the sum of £2,000 was accepted, 
and the best thanks of the Council was given to that lady for 
her generous gift, and for another expression of her continued 
interest in the happiness and welfare of the inhabitants of the 
borough. The Baths and Parks Committee were thus enabled 
to improve the boundaries and plant shrubberies, and to erect 
strong wood fencing, running parallel with the new roads 
referred to. The Committee also removed the entrance gates 
from the Wordsworth Road to the junction of the Park with 
the Golden Hillock Road, Waverley Road, and Wordsworth 
Road, and they effected other improvements to the carriage 
drive leading therefrom, at an outlay of about £200. 



There are four greenhouses erected at the rear of the 
Park-keeper's lodge, the whole having an area of 118 square 
yards ; these are used for the cultivation of plants required 
in the Park. The staff consists of one resident Park- 
keeper and eight assistant gardeners. 



The annual cost of maintenance is about £750, including 
£500 for wages, £22 rates and taxes, and £8 for tithe rent 
charge, &c. 



73 

There is an income of about £174 per annum derived 
from the following sources : 

Letting of the Refreshment Room ... £40 

„ Boating Pool 80 

„ Grazing Land ... 10 

Incidentals from Games, &c 44 

Total ... £174 



Burbury Strand. 




Links loo 50 

fe i i ; ; i i i 



75 



BURBURY STREET RECREATION 
GROUNDS, 

Situated on the north side of the city, partly within and 
partly without the City boundary and the Manor of Aston. 
Its area consists of 4 acres 1 rood 3 perches, and is bounded 
on three sides by Burbury Street, Berners Street, and 
Gordon Street respectively, and on the fourth side by private 
property. The grounds are fenced in on the three sides 
named with dwarf brick walls and cast-iron ornamental 
palisading, with entrance gates from each street. The 
keeper's lodge is erected in conjunction with the principal 
entrance from Burbury Street. Nearly the whole of the 
ground is covered with asphalte, and serves as a valuable 
playground for that district. The borders on each side are 
laid out with ornamental flower beds and shrubberies, and 
in addition there are several large circular flower beds in the 
centre of the enclosure. 

The land was presented to the Corporation by the late 
Mr. William Middlemore. The cost of laying out, fencing, 
and the erection of keeper's lodge was defrayed by that 
gentleman previous to the same being handed over to the 
Corporation. 

The Grounds were formally opened to the public on the 
1st day of Decembei*, 1877, by William Kenrick, Esq., Mayor. 

The staff consists of one keeper, with an occasional 
assistant, and the annual cost of maintenance is about £250, 
including £65 for wages, £13 for rates and taxes, etc. 



Burbury Street Recreation Ground. 

Area, 4 a. lr. 3 p. 




Scale of Chains. 




BR*GEBWD*E 



UND 




Links 100 so o 

I l l l i l I l l i I 



77 



WALMER RECREATION GROUND. 

At a meeting of the City Council, held on the 4th day of 
March, a memorial was presented by Mr. Councillor Peinber- 
ton from inhabitants, property owners, ratepayers, and manu- 
facturers in the Northern district of Birmingham, praying that 
the piece of land, known as " The Old Pleck," situate between 
Newtown Row and Aston Road, might be obtained as a 
Recreation Ground for the use of the people. This memorial 
was referred to the Baths and Parks Committee for considera- 
tion, and to report thereon ; and at a subsequent meeting of 
the Council, held on the 6th day of May, 1890, the Committee 
reported that they had made very careful and exhaustive 
inquiries on the subject, and that they had received and 
conferred with a deputation of gentlemen interested in the 
proposal. 

The whole of the land comprises altogether about 23,383 
square yards, or 4£ acres, exclusive of St. Stephen's Street, 
which it was proposed to close if the whole scheme was 
carried out. The nearest Recreation Ground is about half a 
mile distant, viz., Burbury Street, and one mile from Aston 
Park. The land forms a portion of a large area laid out for 
building purposes, and is divided into two equal parts by St. 
Stephen's Street, and is offered on lease for that purpose. 

The freehold is the property of the Governors of King 
Edward the Sixth's Grammar School, and was leased for 
120 years, from Michaelmas, 1874, to Messrs. F. S. Bolton and 
the late Samuel Briggs, as representatives of the Midland 
Land Corporation, and subsequently re-assigned to these 
gentlemen absolutely. 

The Committee having conferred with the City Surveyor, 
ascertained that the estimated cost of fencing in the Elkington 
Street, Ashford Street, and Bracebridge Street frontages with 



78 

dwarf wall and iron palisadings, inclusive of entrance gates, 
would be £2,500 ; and if St. Stephen's Street was kept open 
throughout, the additional fencing would cost about £900 
extra. Provision would also have to be made for paving in 
event of the street being closed. 

The estimated cost to provide a lodge, shelter for children, 
closet accommodation, laying drains, regulating surface, etc., 
was set down at £2,000 ; and the cost of paving the remainder 
with limestone, £1,250, making a total cost of £5,750, and 
£6,650 if St. Stephen's Street remain. 

The Committee further reported to the Council that the 
Governors of the Grammar School could not sell the freehold 
except with the consent of the Cbainty Commissioners, and 
that the Governors were unwilling to part with freehold land 
under any circumstances, although, in some instances, they 
have consented to exchange. If, however, the Council decided 
to lease the land, for the purpose of using it as a Recreation 
Ground, as they appear to have power to do under The 
Public Health Act, 1875, sec. 164, the terms upon which it 
might be secured are indicated in the following letter, written 
by Mr. Till (as trustee of the late Samuel Briggs) to His 
Worship the Mayor, on behalf of himself and Mr. F. S. Bolton : 

" City of Birmingham, 

" Surveyor's Department, 

" The Council House, 

" April 24th, 1890. 

" Dear Mr. Mayor, 

Since seeing you this morning, I have ascertained that 
Mr. P. S. Bolton would be willing to let on lease, for Recrea- 
tion Ground purposes, the piece of land lying between Ashford 
Street, Elkington Street, and St. Stephen's Street, containing 
about 11,797 square yards; and the piece between St. 
Stephen's Street, Bracebridge Street, and Ashford Street, 
Containing about 11,586 square yards, or either of them, at 
5d. per square yard per annum. As surviving executor of 
the late Samuel Briggs, I concur in the proposition. 

"Of course arrangements would have to be made with 
the freeholders (the Governors of King Edward's School) 



79 



in respect of variation of the building covenants; but I do 
not anticipate there would be any difficulty as to this. 

" Yours faithfully, 

William S. Till. 
" F. C. Clayton, Esq., J.P., 

" Mayor." 

To the above rental of £487 per annum must be added 
tbe cost of maintenance and the repayment of the capital 
expenditure, the total of which is estimated at £1,000 per 
annum 

For the purpose of testing the popularity of similar open 
spaces in the centre of the city, the Committee caused the 
persons passing through the undermentioned Recreation 
Grounds and Gardens, during the week ending 27th April, 
to be counted. 

The return is as follows : 



Day. Date. 


Burbury St. 

Kecreation 

Ground. 


Park Street 
Gardens. 


St. Mary's 
Gardens. 


Monday, April 21 . 


. 3,359 . 


2,520 .. 


4,364 


Tuesday, „ 22 . 


. 2,993 . 


3,405 .. 


4,122 


Wednesday, ,, 23 .. 


. 3,211 . 


3,030 .. 


4,261 


Thursday, ,, 24 


. 3,055 , 


2,980 .. 


4,660 


Friday, „ 25 . 


. 3,321 . 


3,604 .. 


5,055 


Saturday, „ 26 . 


. 3,549 . 


. 4,118 .. 


3,295 


Sunday, „ 27 . 


. 4,039 . 
23,527 


5,246 .. 


2,795 




24,903 


28,552 



It must be borne in mind that the above are used as 
public thoroughfares, and that the numbers do not therefore 
accurately represent the persons using the grounds for recrea- 
tion purposes. The Committee, therefore, having regard to 
the heavy cost incidental to the preservation of " The Old 
Pleck " as a Recreation Ground, reported that they were unable 
to agree on any recommendation to the Council thereon. The 
Council, after considerable discussion thereon, referred the 
report back to the Committee for further consideration. 

At a meeting of the City Council, held on the 20th July, 
1890, the Baths and Parks Committee submitted the following 
report upon the subject : 



80 

With regard to Minute of the Council No. 15,316, 
referring 1 back to your Committee the consideration of the 
acquisition of "The Old Pleck" for a public Recreation Ground, 
your Committee now report that they have further considered 
the matter, as directed, and have held a special meeting, and, 
accompanied by His Worship the Mayor, visited the locality. 

As will be remembered, the land comprises altogether 
about 4| acres, and is pretty equally divided by St. Stephen's 
Street into two triangular portions. 

Your Committee cannot recommend the Council to take 
any steps to acquire the whole of " The Old Pleck " ; but, having 
regard to the prayer of the memorialists, and the desirability 
of securing such an open space in a thickly populated neigh- 
bourhood, have considered the possibility of dealing with a 
portion thereof. The south portion, bounded by St. Stephen's 
Street, Ashford Street, and Elkington Street, and containing 
11,586 square yards, appears the most suitable. 

Your Committee have consulted with the city Surveyor, 
as to the i-eduction of ths estimate for the fencing and laying 
out, etc., submitted to the Council on the 6th of May last, 
and are now of opinion that the erection of an unclimbable iron 
fencing may be substituted for a dwarf wall and palisading, 
and that a lodge may be dispensed with. 

The Surveyor has accordingly prepared the following 
estimate for the half referred to, viz. : 

Enclosing Land with Unclimbable Iron Fencing, 530 



yards _..-.. 


- £530 


Regulating Surface . - - - - 


150 


Limestone Paving, 10,000 square yards 


850 


Turf, Shrubs, Planting, Seats, etc. 


150 


Fencing Shrubberies - - - - 


50 


Erection of Closets, Urinals, and Drainage 


150 


Erection of Shelter - 


200 


Sundries 


20 




£2,100 



81 

The interest and sinking fund required to repay this 
amount, calculated on a thirty years' loan at 3j per cent., 
amounts to £109 per annum. The lease, which is the property 
of Mr. F. S. Bolton and the surviving executor of the late 
Mr. Samuel Briggs, is for a term of 99 years, and your Com- 
mittee have reason to believe that the Governors of King 
Edward's School (the owners of the land) will be willing, 
subject to the approval of the Charity Commissioners, to waive 
the building covenants, and to accept the Corporation as lessees 
for the period named, at a rental of 5d. per square yard, which, 
calculated on 11,586 square yards (the total area of the piece 
in question), amounts to £241 7s. 6d. per annum, making a 
total annual charge of £350 7s. 6d. 

Your Committee therefore recommend that they be 
authorised (subject to the approval of the Charity Commis- 
sioners) to take steps to acquire the portion of The Old Pleck 
referred to, on lease, from the Governors of King Edward's 
School, on the terms indicated ; and that they be further 
authorised to fence and lay out the ground in the manner pro- 
posed in the report ; and that they be authorised to take all 
such steps as may be requisite for the carrying out of the 
before-mentioned purposes, and, where necessary, under the 
Corporate Common Seal. 

Tour Committee also further recommend that the Finance 
Committee be ihstracted to borrow the sum required for the 
laying out of the land, viz., £2,100, under the provisions of 
the Statutes in that behalf. 

It was moved by Mr. Alderman Barrow, seconded by Mr. 
Councillor Pemberton, and 

Besolved — 

(15,389) That, in accordance with the recommendation 
contained in the Report now presented, the Baths and Parks 
Committee be authorised to acquire a lease from the Governors 
of King Edward's School of the southern portion of the piece 
of land known as "The Old Pleck," bounded by St. Stephen's 
Street, Ashford Street, and Elkington Street, containing 
11,586 square yards, for a term of 99 years, for the purposes 
of a public Recreation Ground, at a rental of £241 7s. 6d. 



82 

per annum ; and to cause such ground to be properly fenced 
and laid out, at an estimated cost of £2,100. Also, that the 
Finance Committee be instructed to borrow, under the 
provisions of the Statutes in that behalf, the sum of £2,100 ; 
and that, for the purposes aforesaid, the said Committees 
respectively do take all such, measures, in the name and on 
behalf of the Council, and, where necessary, under the 
Corporate Common Seal, as they may deem advisable. 

The Local Government Boai*d inquiry, in respect to the 
aforesaid loan, was held at the Council House on the 30fch day 
of April, 1891, by John Thornhill Harrison, Esq., one of Her 
Majesty's Inspectors, acting for and under the authority of 
the said Board. The Chairman of the Baths and Parks Com- 
mittee, Mr. Alderman Barrow, explained the details of the 
scheme, to which no opposition was offered ; and subsequently 
the Town Clerk received the sanction of the Local Government 
Board thereto. 

The lease was subsequently prepared by Messrs. Millward 
and Co., solicitors, of Waterloo Street, and sets forth that the 
ai'ea contains 11,586 square yards, leased for a period of 
ninety-nine years from the 25th March, 1891, at an annual 
rental of £245 14s. 7d. ; and the various contracts have now 
been entered into for fencing in and laying out and paving 
the grounds, and for providing the necessary shelter and 
closet accommodation required in connection therewith. 

The grounds are now planted with trees and shrubs 
adapted to the locality, and will be ready for opening to the 
public early in the year 1892, when the inhabitants of the 
district and others interested propose to celebrate the event 
by a public demonstration of some kind not yet determined 
upon. 

The annual cost of maintenance, including interest and 
sinking fund, ground rent, and workmen's wages, etc., will 
amouut to about £460 a year. 



Nechells Re 




links 100 50 i 2 

toi l nil fc^= L 



[CREATION UR 



9a. lr. 9p 




Scale of Chains. 

4- 5 



10 Chains. 



83 



NECHELLS RECREATION GROUND. 

The Gas Committee having acquired a large piece of land 
in this district for the extension of their works, they have set 
apart several acres as a Public Recreation Ground. The land 
has been laid out with turf and gravel walks, and has entrances 
from St. Clement's Road, Nechells Park Road, and Cattell 
Grove. The annual cost of maintenance is defrayed by the 
Gas Committee, under whose control the grounds have hitherto 
remained. The Baths and Parks Committee are now taking 
over the management of these grounds, subject to certain 
conditions contained in the offer made by the Gas Committee, 
and they hope to effect considerable improvements thereto. 



Nechells Recreation Ground. 



Area, 9 a. lr. 9 p. 



Scale of Chains. 




Links 100 50 I 2 3 4 5 

iiiiihii' 1 i i i I 



85 



CLOSED BURIAL GROUNDS. 

On the 12fch of December, 1873, an Order in Council was 
issued by The Right Hon. Robert Lowe, Secretary of State, 
requiring — 

(1) That no new burial ground be opened in the 

parishes of Birmingham, Edgbaston, and Aston. 

(2) That burials be discontinued in St. John's Burial 

Ground, Liverpool Street; in the Jews' Burial 
Ground, Bartholomew Row and Granville 
Street ; in the burial grounds of the Chapels in 
Cannon Street, Carrs Lane, Lombard Street, 
Newhall Street, Newtown Row, Graham Street, 
Bradford Street, and Steelhouse Lane ; also in 
the churchyards of St. Philip's, St. Martin's, St. 
Bartholomew's, St. James's, St. Mary's, St. Paul's, 
St. Thomas's, St. George's, St. Peter's (Roman 
Catholic) Broad Street, and the Old Meeting 
House (now removed for the extension of the 
Central Railway Station), except in vaults and 
walled graves, with an air-tight coffin ; also in the 
churchyards of St Matthew's, Holy Trinity, and 
Edgbaston Parish Church, except in existing 
family graves, and with coffins embedded in six 
inches of concrete. 

Seeing that the churchyards no longer available for 
burials were, some of them, of an area sufficient to be valuable 
as playgrounds, and capable of being rendered ornamental, 
instead of disfigurements to the town, at the suggestion of 
Mr. C. E. Mathews, a member of the Estates Committee, the 
Corporation obtained in 1878 an Act giving them power, with 
the consent of The Bishop of Worcester and of the clergy of 
the respective parishes, to acquire possession of these spaces. 



86 
ST. MARY'S GARDENS. 

At a meeting of the Council on the 5th April, 1881, a 
memorial was presented from the burgesses and inhabitants 
of St. Mary's Ward, praying the Council to take over the 
Graveyard attached to St. Mary's Church, and to maintain 
the same in decent order. The memorial was referred to the 
Estates Committee. 

In 1882 considerable alterations and improvements in con- 
nection with this Churchyard were undertaken. The work of 
converting the whole of the area into a garden and playground 
was executed, from plans prepared by the City Surveyor, 
at a cost of £1,856, and for which a loan was effected. The 
total area, exclusive of the Church, is about 13,439 square 
yards (nearly three acres). About 5,970 square yards have 
been covered with asphalte, and a shelter provided; two 
new entrance gates, with massive brick and stone piers, have 
also been erected, one in Weaman Row and one in St. Mary's 
Row. Other improvements have been carried out in connec- 
tion with the iron palisading with which the grounds are 
surrounded. These Gardens were formally opened on the 
lGth day of October, 1882, by Thomas Avery, Esq., Mayor, 
and the annual cost of maintenance is about £120. 



PARK STREET GARDENS. 

Under the powers of the Act mentioned, the Corporation, 
in 1879, took possession of the long-disused St. Martin's 
Burial Ground in Park Street, and of St. Bartholomew's 
Churchyard, an ai'ea, altogether, of about five acres, and 
converted them into Public Recreation Grounds, which were 
to be known as Park Street Gardens. 

The work, together with that of improving the old 
burying ground of St. Martin's, adjoining the Church, was 
executed at a cost of £10,263. Of the area mentioned, half 
an acre was thrown into the adjoining streets, the widening 
of which constituted a great improvement ; and of the amount 



7SI /|fc 



tMarvs Garden. 

Area, 2 a. 3r. 24 p. 




W H I T T A L L 



STREET 




Links 100 50 



Scale of Chains. 

I 2. 



3 Chains. 



ParkStreetGardens 

Area, 4 a. lr. 35 p. 




Scale of Chains. 



LINKS. 100 SO O I 



3 * 



5 G 

-i '' - 



87 

named, £2,943 was paid by the Public Works Committee, 
as an apportionment of public street improvements iu 
connection therewith. 

The area of the Gardens, about four acres and a half, is 
planted with trees and shrubs, and interspersed with flower 
beds, etc. A portion of the area is asphalted, to serve as a play- 
ground for children, and suitable shelters have been erected, 
with other accommodation for the comfort and convenience of 
visitors thereto. 

The grounds were opened by the Mayor, Mr. Alderman 
Richard Chamberlain, on the 25th of June, 1880. The annual 
cost of maintenance is about £300. Nearly the whole of the 
area is enclosed with a low brick wall and cast-iron palisading, 
with entrance gates from each of the streets abutting there- 
on. 

For the capital expenditure, a loan, repayable in sixty 
years, was raised. 



ST. MARTIN'S CHURCHYARD. 

This Churchyard has been greatly improved by the Cor- 
poration, and part of the site was taken from it to widen 
the adjacent streets. The work was executed in 1880, the 
outlay being included in the loan raised for the Park Street 
Gardens. The planting and renewal of trees, turf, etc., and 
the general maintenance of the iron palisading surrounding 
the Churchyard, is carried out at the cost of the Corporation. 



p. 



From 
Barnt Green. 




BIRM*? 



89 



REDNAL AND BILBERRY HILLS 

Are situated on the direct Bristol Eoad between Birmingham 
and Bromsgrove, about nine miles from the former and six miles 
from the latter. The nearest railway station is Barnt Green, on 
the Midland Railway, and is about one and a half mile 
distant. There is also a station at Rubery, on the Great 
Western Line, about the same distance on the northern side 
of the Hill. They foi'm part of a range known as the Bromsgrove 
Lickey Hills, Rednal Hill being on one side of the main road 
and Bilberry Hill on the other side. The latter derives its name 
from the large number of bilberry bushes growing thereon. 
Both Hills are well wooded, and from each extensive and 
beautiful views are obtained of the surrounding country. 

At a meeting of the Council, held on the 28th day of 
December, 1887, the Mayor, Sir Thomas Martineau, read two 
letters he had received, one from Mr. T. Grosvenor Lee, and 
one from Lord Windsor, in reply to inquiries which had been 
made as to the progress of a scheme for the acquisition of 
Rednal Hill for public purposes. 

Mr. Lee in his reply, dated December 12th, 1887, 
reported that on the 11th of October he had agreed to pur- 
chase from Messrs. A. E. Wenham, R. H. Millward, and T. B. 
Osborne, at the price of £1,000, about 22 acres of uncultivated 
land on Rednal Hill, and which had been advertised to be 
sold by public auction, in small building lots, on the evening of 
that day. Mr. Lee further stated, his object in making the pur- 
chase was to endeavour to secure the purchase and preservation 
of the greater part of the Hill, in its present striking, wild, and 
picturesque condition, for the enjoyment of the public for ever. 
Since the date of the above-mentioned purchase, Mr. Lee 
reported that he had succeeded in buying back again from the 
various owners a considerable part of the northern portion of 
the Hill, which had been sold in lots at a previous auction in 



Rednal & Bilberry Hills. 

Area, 82 a. 2r. 21 p. 




Scale of Chains. 



Links I00„0 123456789 10 

fe I 1 I I I I I I t=i= 



20 Chains. 



•«%. 



SR0 s LITH, BM 



90 

August last; and consequently Mr. Y.Underhill, of Small Heath, 
who had offered to present to the public the uncultivated por- 
tion of the lots purchased by him if the other lots could be 
acquired, was then prepared to carry out the previous inten- 
tion, which he then expressed : " The land recently acquired, 
added to the 22 acres previously purchased by me, made a 
total of 30 acres, purchased at a total cost of £1,500, and it is 
possible that an additional four acres may be eventually 
acquired. It must, however, be remembered that the land, 
although secured, is not yet paid for, and the possibility of 
carrying out the whole scheme must depend upon the way in 
which the public respond to the appeal for subscriptions which 
will be issued early in the ensuing year, it having been con- 
sidered undesirable to issue such appeal during the progress of 
the negotiations which have recently been going on. Several 
promises of pecuniary support have already been received, and 
if a sufficient sum is raised to enable me to purchase the whole 
of the 30 acres, next March it is proposed (subject of course 
to the approval of those who subscribed the purchase money) 
that the Hill should be transferred to the Corporation of 
Brrmingham, or some other responsible public body willing to 
undertake the charge of it, subject only to a condition that it 
shall be kept open for ever for the enjoyment of the public. 
" (Signed) 

" T. Grosvenor Lee, 
" Hon. Sec, of the Birmingham Association for the Preservation 
of Open Spaces and Public Footpaths.'''' 

Lord Windsor's letter upon the same subject, dated from 
Hewell Grange, Bromsgrove, December 5th, 1889, is as follows: 

" Dear Sir Thomas Martineau, 

" With reference to the conversation which we had 
last month at the Conservative Club in Birmingham, I wish to 
say that I am prepared to grant a lease of Bilberry Hill, for 
purpose of recreation, for 21 years (reserving, however, a width 
of ground fronting the main road), at an annual rental of £5, 
towards the payment of which I will subscribe £5 per annum. 

" A plan will be prepared, and all necessary particulars 
arranged, by my Agent, to whom I have given instructions to 

carry out the details. 

" (Signed) Windsor." 



91 

These letters were received by the Council, and referred 
to the Baths and Parks Committee by Minute No. 14,626, 
with instructions to consider the proposals therein respectively 
contained, and to make the necessary inquiries in reference 
thereto, and to report to the Council thereon. A cordial vote 
of thanks was also presented by the Council to Lord Windsor 
for the generous offer contained in his letter. 

On the 1st of May, 1888, the Baths and Parks Committee 
reported to the Council that they had visited Rednal and 
Bilberry Hills, and they believed that the offers made by Lord 
Windsor, Mr. Grosvenor Lee, and the subscribers, will result 
in a valuable addition to the Recreation Grounds now under 
the control of the Council, and they recommended that the 
offers be accepted. 

At the same meeting of the Council, the Mayor (Mr. 
Alderman Pollack) read a letter from Mr. Grosvenor Lee, 
stating that the amount raised by public subscription — which 
was opened by the Association of which he was the Hon. 
Secretary (viz., The Birmingham Association for the Preserva- 
tion of Open Spaces and Public Footpaths) — had been suffi- 
cient to enable them to complete the purchase of. the southern 
portion of Rednal Hill, comprising 21 acres, and that the con- 
tributors to the fund were willing that the portion so pur- 
chased should be transferred as a free gift to the Corporation 
of Birmingham, if they are willing to take the charge of it, with 
the object of its being kept open for ever as a place of public 
recreation and enjoyment. 

Mr. Lee suggested that if the gift was accepted, some 
person should at once be appointed to take charge of the Hill, 
as well as the Bilberry Hill presented by Lord Windsor. Mr. 
Lee also stated that the money raised up to that date, May 1st, 
1888, was about £500 less than the amount required for pur- 
chasing the northern portion of the Hill, about 7% acres, and 
for securing the free gift of If acre in addition, kindly offered 
by Mr. Underhill on condition that the 7f acres were acquired. 
Mr. Lee further reported that he had arranged with the vendors 
for an extension until the 4th of August next, the time within 



92 



which, it must be decided whether the latter portion of the 
Hill is to become the property of the public, or is to be cut up 
into eight building plots, into which it has already been 
divided on paper ; and Mr. Lee wrote : " I trust that when the 
public attention is directed to the great importance of securing 
the whole of the Hill, for the purpose of preserving it in its 
present wild and picturesque condition, for ever, the necessary 
funds will be forthcoming during the next three months." 

By Minute No. 14,766, the Council accepted the generous 
offer made by The Right Hon. Lord Windsor, to grant a lease 
of Bilberry Hill for 21 years, at a rental of £5 per annum, 
subject to the condition contained in his lordship's letter of 
December 5th, 1887 ; and by the same minute the Baths and 
Parks Committee were instructed, on the completion of the 
lease, to receive possession of the ground, and to take all 
measures, as they may deem necessary, for the preservation 
and maintenance of the same as a place for public recreation ; 
and, farther, that the Town Clerk be instructed to affix the 
Corporate Common Seal to all deeds, instruments, and 
writings necessary for giving effect to the resolution. 

By Minute 14,767, the Council resolved to accept the offer 
made by Mr. T. Grosvenor Lee, to transfer to the Council 
21j acres of land, forming a part of the Rednal Hill, as a free 
gift to the Corporation, subject to the condition that it shall 
be kept open for use as a place of recreation and enjoyment for 
the public. The Baths and Parks Committee were also 
instructed to receive possession of the land on the completion 
of the transfer, and to take all such measures as they may 
deem necessary for the preservation and maintenance thereof, 
as a place of public recreation, at the cost of the borough ; and, 
further, the Town Clerk was instructed to affix the Corporate 
Common Seal to all deeds, instruments, and writings necessaiy 
for giving effect to the resolution. 

The Hills were declared open to the public on the 19th 
day of May, 1888, by Sir Thomas Martineau, Mayor; the 
members of the Baths and Parks Committee, with other 
members of the Council, and the officials of the department, 
being present. The annual cost of maintenance is about 
£70, including wages, rates, and taxes. 



93 

On the 2nd day of July, 1889, the Baths and Parks 
Committee reported to the Council that the lease from Lord 
Windsor, of Bilberry Hill, had been sealed and exchanged ; and 
with regard to the Rednal Hill, the Committee reported Mr. 
Grosvenor Lee had lodged the title deeds of the major portion 
of the property with the Town Clerk, with an undertaking to 
convey the whole to the Corporation when the purchases yet 
to be made had been effected. 

At the same meeting of the Council, the Committee 
reported that large numbers of persons visited the Hills, 
especially on Bank Holidays, and that, although it was the 
practice to send two additional men for special duty on such 
days, they proposed to communicate with the county authori- 
ties, and urge that some assistance should be afforded the 
local police officers at all times when large numbers of persons 
were expected to visit the locality. This application met with 
the ready response of the Authorities, and eight constables, 
with two sergeants, are now placed on duty in the neigh- 
bourhood upon all such occasions. 

At a meeting of the City Council, held on the 3rd day of 
December, 1888, the Mayor read the following letter from 
Mr. T. Grosvenor Lee : 

" 18, Newhall Street, 

" Birmingham, 

"11th November, 1889. 

" To His Worship the Mayor of Birmingham. 
"Dear Sir, 

"Referring to the communications which have passed 
between The Open Spaces Preservation Association and your 
two immediate predecessors, on the subject of Rednal Hill, I 
have now the great satisfaction of informing you that the 
whole money required for completing the purchase of the 
northern portion of Rednal Hill (about seven hundred pounds) 
has been raised by public subscription ; and I am now prepared 
to convey that portion of the Hill, containing an area of about 
nine acres, to the Corporation of Birmingham as a free gift, 
subject only to the condition that it shall be kept open for ever 
as a place for public recreation and enjoyment. Mr. George 



94 

Underhill has honourably fulfilled the pledge which he gave 
in August, 1887, by making a free gift to the Corporation of 
two plots of land on the Hill, containing about one and a half 
acre, which he purchased at the first auction. The Committee 
who have had charge of the matter regret, however, to report 
that the owners of two plots on the Hill have hitherto abso- 
lutely declined to sell their land for the purpose of making the 
scheme complete, and the existence of these plots in private 
hands must always be to some extent a public injury. It is 
hoped that at some future time the proprietors will be willing 
to follow the excellent example set to them by the other owners 
of separate lots, and will consent to sell their land to the Cor- 
poration at a fair price. 

"I remain, Sir, 

"Yours obediently, 

" T. GROSVENOR LEE, 

"Hon. Sec. of above Association." 

It was moved by the Mayor, seconded by Alderman Sir 
Thomas Martineau, and 
Resolved — 

(15,165) That Mr. Grosvenor Lee's letter be received, and 
referred to the Town Clerk, with authority to accept a convey- 
ance to the Corporation of the land described therein, forming 
the northern portion of Rednal Hill, and to take all such 
measures as may be necessary for completing the transfer of 
such land, on the conditions and in accordance with the direc- 
tions contained in Council Minute No. 14,767, of the 1st of 
May, 1888, and that the completion of the transfer be notified 
to the Baths and Parks Committee. 

It was moved by the Mayor, seconded by Alderman Sir 
Thomas Martineau, and 
Resolved — 

(15,166) That the best thanks of this Council be pi'e- 
sented to Mr. George Underhill, for his free gift to the 
Corporation of two plots of land on Rednal Hill ; and to Mr. T. 
Grosvenor Lee, for his indefatigable and disinterested exertions 
in promoting and carrying out the scheme by which the Cor- 
poration have become possessed of this valuable property, for 
the use and enjoyment of the inhabitants of this city and the 
neighbourhood for ever. 



95 



STREET ENCLOSURES. 

There are numerous places in the city where plantations 
have been made in the open spaces at the convergence of several 
streets. The largest is in Summer Hill Terrace, and affords a 
good example of this kind of street ornamentation. There are 
other enclosures at the junctions of the following streets, the 
whole of which are enclosed with ornamental palisading : 

Buckingham Street with Hampton Street. 
Lawley Street „ Great Barr Street. 

Anderton Road „ Grantham Road. 

Gosta Green. 
Camden Square. 

Flowers and ornamental shrubs are also placed on the 
Sturge memorial at the Five Ways, on the Attwood statue in 
Stephenson Place, and in the ornamental spaces adjoining the 
Town Hall and Council House. 

A Plantation was maintained for several years on the 
grounds of the Water Committee at Whitacre, and was used 
principally as a nursery for growing shrubs and trees 
required in the roads and street enclosures, etc. This land 
was given up to the Water Committee in June, 1891, as the 
Baths and Parks Committee found they had enough spare 
land at the various Parks suited for that purpose. 



TREES IN STREETS. 

The care and maintenance of the trees planted in some of 
the principal streets and roads of the city was formerly under 
the Public Works Committee. On the 2nd of January, 1883, 
the Public Works Committee recommended the Council 
to transfer the management thereof to the Baths and Parks 
Committee. The necessary openings in the footpaths for the 
planting of fresh trees, and the making good of the pavement 
after renewals, &c, were to be carried out by the Public Works 
Committee as heretofore. The recommendation was approved 
by the Council by Minute No. 12,995. The annual cost of such 
maintenance and renewals, etc., is about £60. 



96 



TREES ARE PLANTED IN THE UNDERMENTIONED 
STREETS AND ROADS OF THE CITY, AS FOLLOWS— 



Situation. 


o 

t-l 

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-*> 

a 
c 

DO 

a> 

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a 


6 

S 
3 


a 


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Aberdeen Street . 
Bristol Road 
Bristol Street 
Broad Street 
Berner Street 
Buckingham Stree 
Burbury Street . 
Chamberlain Mem 
Congreve Street . 
Camp Hill... 
Dudley Road 
Edmund Street . 
Edgbaston Road . 
Grantham Road . 
Gosta Green 
Gough Road 
Icknield Street 
James Watt Stree 
Lower Temple Sti 
Moseley Road 
Nechells Place 
Nechells Park Ro 
Pershore Road 
Summerfield Roac 
Stanmore Road 
Stephenson Place 
Stephenson Streei 
Sir Harry's Road 
Speedwell Road 
Sandy Lane 
Sandpits . . . 
Watery Lane 
Wheeleys Road 


it 
orial 

b 
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id 
f 




"4 


i 


*6 
'■8 

J 


328 
66 

•8 

9 

2 

9 

*2 

53 

148 

6 

12 

"4 
5 


2 

5 

4 

63 

"4 
1 
5 
1 
3 

34 

16 

"5 

15 
4 

18 
20 

1 

12 

59 


*6 
2 
2 

4 

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i'6 

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76 

63 

10 

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168 

6 
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60 . 








4 


1 


15 


652 


279 


40 991 

1 



97 



BAL8ALL HEATH RECREATION 
GROUND. 

Previous to the annexation of Balsall Heath to the City, 
the Local Board of that district undertook to acquire from 
W. C. A. Smith -Ry land, Esq., a piece of land in Ladypool 
Lane, Sparkbrook, containing about 4| acres, for the purpose of 
a Recreation Ground, on lease for a term of twenty-one years, 
at an annual nominal rent, which will be paid by Mr. ,Smith- 
Ryland. The Local Government Board also sanctioned a loan 
of £3,500 for the erection of a keeper's lodge, fencing in, and 
laying-out of the grounds. 

By the City of Birmingham Order, 1891, and the Act 
confirming the same, this piece of land was taken over by the 
City Council, and placed in charge of the Baths and Parks 
Committee, as and from the 9th of November, 1891. 

On the 5th day of January, 1892, the Committee reported 
to the City Council that the boundaries of the land in question 
had not yet been settled, and that when such settlement 
had been arrived at, the lease would be signed by the 
Corporation. 

At the same meeting of the Council, the Finance Com- 
mittee were authorised and instructed to borrow the sum of 
£3,500, for the purpose of laying out the grounds, etc., in 
accordance with the arrangements previously made by the 
Balsall Heath Local Board. 



Balsall Heath 
Recreation Ground. 

Area, 4 a. lr. 20 p. 




Scale of Chains 






98 



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03 

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Total 
Amount 

of 
Income, 

1891. 


£ s. d. 

68 4 9 
329 12 
174 7 

55 9 

11 16 

1 6 6 
11 1 4 

1 11 6 


r-t 
CO 

co 
la 

CO 


Miscel- 
laneous 
Income. 


£ s. d. 
10 
6 13 4 
2 10 5 

12 6 
2 11 

12 17 3 


Income 

from 

Sale 

of 

Grass 


£ s. d. 

15 7 6 
3 9 6 

14 
3 12 3 

"i 6 

23 10 9 


Income 

from 

Hire 

of 

Chairs. 


£ s. d. 

1 "i 10 

2 3 3 

... 

3 8 1 


M O 


«o : : : : :::::::: 

qj CO 


o 

o 
eo 


Income 
from 
Bowls. 


£ s. d. 
10 10 3 
13 6 

6 6 

1 i'6 9 


© 

i— i 

CO 


Income 
from 
Lawn 

Tennis. 


£ s. d. 

1 10 

22 3 4 

18 1 4 

3 7 4 


o 

in 


° o"S 


£ s. d. 
3 19 

3 2 

4 15 
3 10 
1 16 


o 

CM 


CD u 

§8.1 


£ s. d. 

8 15 6 
25 7 6 
13 1 
21 19 

5 

... 


71 4 074 3 


^ to . 
■£ "5 ^ 
s: h 


£ s. d. 

35 6 

10 

20 

5 

1 "i 


Rent of 
Swim- 
ming' 
Bath. 


£ s. d. 
40 

to 


O a m 

ail 


£ s. d. 

120 
80 

200 


Rent of 
Refresh- 
ment 
Rooms. 


£ s. d. 
40 
60 
40 
10 

150 


Ph 

<l 
Ph 

O 


Aston Park 

Cannon Hill Park... 
Victoria Park 
Calthorpe Park 
Adderley Park 
Burbury Street Re- 
creation Ground... 
Highgate Park 
Summerfield Park... 
Park Street Gardens 
St. Mary's Gardens 
Street Enclosures ... 
Trees in Streets ... 
Rednal Hills 


en 
03 
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100 



SUMMARY OF DETAILS RELATING TO THE SEVERAL PARKS AND GARDENS. 




p^ce 



a 

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.luered by the .Shareholders of the original Asto:i Park 
arried out by them, at an estimated cose of £8,000. Do 
by theCorporation, viz.— by Messrs. G. and A. Dixon, £2 
G. F. Muntz, £1,000; and £2,000 by other Donors. 

of September, 1864, by W. Holliday, Esq., Mayor, 



* Shares to ilie value of £tf,ouo were surre 
liuildings, with other Improvements c 
given towards i lie purchase of th '. Park 
£1,000; Mr. Thomas Lloyd, £1,000; Mr. 

t Opened free to the Public on the 2Jnd 



Company, and the 
nations were also 
,000; Miss Hyland, 



101 



SUMMARY OF DETAILS RELATING TO THE SEVERAL PARKS AND GARDENS (continued). 




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t Free on its acquisition by the Corporation. 



* This amount includes the Superintendent's Salary. 



102 



SUMMARY OF DETAILS RELATING TO THE SEVERAL PARKS AND GARDENS (continued.) 


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